FERGIE ON.. HIS ROW WITH
THE BBC
Pussycat Sir Alex Ferguson reckons the volcano went out of his
temper 15 years ago – but his feud with the BBC is the Corporation’s longest-running soap outside
Albert Square.
The Manchester United boss has not said a word to the Beeb since
they broadcast an unremarkable documentary about his son Jason’s
transfer dealings in 2004.
The only exception was his warm tribute to Sir Bobby Robson at
last year’s BBC Sports Personality bash – out
of respect for the former England boss.
In a Sky Sports interview with Sir David Frost tonight, he
reveals he will loosen his tongue next season… if the BBC apologise.
He said: “The thing with the BBC is they
never say they are sorry. It’s 2008 now… just say sorry, they were
wrong. That’s all they have to do and I told them that. Sometimes
even the BBC has to be big enough to do that.
I forgive easily. I don’t hold grudges at all.
“What I’m doing with the BBC isn’t a
grudge, it’s a stance. There’s nothing wrong with saying you are
wrong about something – it’s a quality.
“I remember Gary Lineker, a bright boy from the BBC, say I’m childish… well, he should know about that
himself.
“He’s been the subject of a lot of stuff in the media, so he
will understand what childishness means because he’s childish. I
don’t think I’m childish at all – I think it’s a stance. What they
did was wrong.”
But while Fergie’s position with the Beeb has remained
entrenched, Sky’s revelation that the feared hairdryer has now
subsided to a gentle zephyr will be a relief to United’s
players.
Ferguson said: “I think it was Jock Stein who told me there’s
nothing wrong with losing your temper for the right reasons – and I
think 70 to 80 per cent of the time I’ve done it for the right
reasons. Sometimes it would be premeditated to get my point across,
to keep the players’ feet on the ground, but I’m going back to 15
years ago. I’m a pussycat now – I’m too old to lose my temper.
“Throwing teacups? That only happened once or twice. There was a
famous one with Gordon Strachan when we were playing in Romania and
he wasn’t listening to instructions.
“I came in, there was this big tea urn and I went to smash it –
and I’m not kidding you, I nearly broke my arm. I kicked the tray
so hard the cups went up over the wall. Archie Knox, my assistant,
was sitting there with tea running down the back of his
tracksuit.”
And what of the famous hairdryer temper? “That was Mark Hughes
who invented that phrase. After he left me, of course.”
Fergie claims he does not begrudge his own stars their
multimillionaire status. But he knows how to keep them hungry,
revealing a psychological masterstroke after United ended their
26-year title wait in 1993.
“When we won the League I came out of the dressing room and I
said, ‘I’ve written three names and put them in an envelope – those
are the three players who are going to let us down next season.’
“The players looked at each other and said, ‘It’s not me!’ Of
course, there was never any envelope.”
FERGIE ON.. BEING FAN OF
NEW LABOUR
Labour Prime Ministers who enjoy Sir Alex Ferguson’s counsel may
be surprised to learn his mother once suspected him of being a
Communist.
Comrade Fergie was knighted in 1999 under Tony Blair’s
Government, and Gordon Brown (below) has even indulged his passion
for history by sending 20 dvds on the American civil war from
Downing Street to Old Trafford.
But Fergie is still glad he got out of politics and forged a
career in football after his maiden voyage on the picket line as a
shop steward at the Remington Rand, a typewriter factory in
Glasgow.
Apprentice toolmaker Fergie admitted: “It was very much a strong
trade union organisation, a very strong Communist union, when we
had to make a decision whether to go on strike or not and I was
vice steward at the time.
“There’s nine people in that toilet, in the Remington Rand, and
the voting went to 4-4, so I says, ‘Casting vote, we’re out !’ Of
course, as a trade union you need a two-thirds majority, but I
wasn’t telling them. So we marched out of the factory under the
workers’ banner – and it was great. It was a bit of an adventure,
and you feel a bit of a rebel, so we went on strike for six
weeks.
“But I came home once and my mum says, ‘Your granny wants to
speak to you.’ She lived just round the corner, so she was a bit of
a matriarch and was on top of anything you did wrong.
“So I went round there and she says, ‘Your mother thinks you’re
a Communist.’ She went right through me, saying, ‘You had better
bloody well not be – I’d never forgive you’.”
FERGIE ON.. HIS UNITED
SUCCESSOR
Carlos Queiroz could leapfrog Old Trafford legends Roy Keane and
Mark Hughes in the race to become Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor at
Manchester United.
Former Old Trafford skipper Keane’s impact in his first
managerial post at Sunderland, and ex-Wales boss Hughes’ conversion
of Blackburn from cloggers to classy European contenders, have
turned them into favourites for Fergie’s throne when he steps
down.
But the Scot, who expects to remain in charge for a maximum of
three more years, believes Queiroz is as qualified as any former
United player to wear the crown.
Although Fergie concedes his legion of former United stars have
their supporters, he insisted: “You can’t discount them, but it’s
not a prerequisite for the job, I’m sure of that – I mean, Matt
Busby played for Manchester City, didn’t he?
“And you can’t discountmy assistant Carlos Queiroz – he is
outstanding, he’s done fantastic work for the club, so that’s no
worse than anyone else.”
Fergie confirmed he does not envisage emulating former England
coach Sir Bobby Robson by working beyond his 70th birthday, adding:
“I’ll keep my enthusiasm up, but whether I’ll still be doing the
football (past 70) I’m not so sure about that. No more than three
years – maybe two more like the last one.
“I’ve got to respect my wife because she’s suffering. She
doesn’t go to the games, she’s not a football fan – she watches it
on Teletext. Can you believe that?
“But the most important man at Manchester United is the manager
– the minute that ever changed, it would mean massive freefall in
the club. You can never allow players to run the club, you can
never allow the supporters to run it – although they all have a
massive part to play. Someone must run it, someone has to be in
charge, and the manager is the best man and he has always got to be
supported.”
FERGIE ON.. THE FAMOUS
BECKS BOOT INCIDENT
David Beckham scored from inside his own half when Sir Alex
Ferguson was threatening to haul him off for being too flash.
But even that 60-yard wonder goal against Wimbledon wasn’t as
freakish as his facial injury inadvertently inflicted by the
Manchester United manager in the amazing case of Fergie’s flying
boot.
Fergie has rarely spoken about the gash Beckham suffered above
his left eye after a 2-0 home defeat by Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in
the FA Cup five years ago.
In a monumental strop afterwards, the United boss kicked a boot
across the home dressing room at Old Trafford – and watched it hit
Goldenballs in the face.
Acknowledging the incident DID take place,
Fergie reveals it was “a complete accident”.
“It was 10 yards away from him, or something like that. It was
amazing.” Ferguson, never a fan of Beckham’s showbiz trappings,
adopted a mood closer to self-deprecation, however, when recalling
THAT incredible lob at Selhurst Park in 1996,
which he ranks among the greatest goals of his 21-year reign at
United.
He said: “How can you forget that 60-yard goal?
“You know, he tried it about 10 minutes before he scored and I
said to my assistant Brian Kidd, ‘If he tries that again, he’s
off.’
“At the time, David was getting carried away a bit.
“Well, you know, David could get carried away and you are always
trying to keep his feet on the ground.
“When the goal goes in, Kiddo turns to me and says, ‘We’ll have
to take him off!’”
FERGIE ON.. THE
PREM’S FOREIGN INVASION
English football’s growing foreign legion is becoming a
“dangerous” handicap for new national team coach Fabio Capello,
warned Sir Alex Ferguson.
Premier League teams featured only four English players on
average in their starting line-up last season – although Fergie’s
Manchester United home guard included Wayne Rooney, Michael
Carrick, Paul Scholes, Wes Brown, Owen Hargreaves and Rio
Ferdinand.
The United boss blasted title rivals Arsenal and Chelsea for
their diminishing contingent of home-grown talent and said: “Is the
foreign invasion dangerous? It’s a dangerous thing on a team, I’m
sure of that. And it reduces the capacity of the England manager to
choose from all the (Premier League) teams.
“If you have got Arsenal and Chelsea in particular – and this is
not a criticism – he can only pick from two Arsenal players (Theo
Walcott and Justin Hoyte) really.
“Chelsea have got four – John Terry, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and
Ashley Cole – that’s a far better proportion, but they still have a
lot of foreign players.
“I see the danger sign for England managers that way. But on the
other side of it, I don’t think the academy system in English
football is the best.”
FERGIE ON.. THE FIGHT TO
KEEP R0NALDO
Cristiano Ronaldo’s imminent statement about his future has not
left manager Sir Alex Ferguson in a sweat – because he is already
“more than confident” the winger will stay at Manchester
United.
Double Footballer of the Year Ronaldo (left) a £100million
target for Real Madrid, has said he will make a decision before
Portugal’s Euro 2008 campaign starts on Saturday.
But Fergie expects the phoney war with Real to have a happy
ending for United fans and said: “I’m very confident – it’s a game
they (Real Madrid) play all the time.
“In the past they have done it with David Beckham, they have
done it with Ruud van Nistelrooy and they even took our fitness
coach away from us last summer, so we’re used to it.
“It’s a great compliment to the standard of the players we have
but I’m more than confident Ronaldo will be here next year.
“We have very determined directors in the Glazer family, who
will not be messed around in this situation. And chief executive
David Gill is of the same mind, so the core structure of Manchester
United – in terms of the people who run the club – are all
adamant.
“We want Cristiano to stay for a long time and we have rewarded
that. He is on a fantastic contract and rightly so – he’s the best
player in the world and he deserves to be recognised in the
monetary sense.”