http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/sports/story/0,4136,125176,00.html?
GOOD things do come in threes.
And for those who congregated inside Old Trafford yesterday
evening, they would have hearkened to the good tidings that alas,
Sir Alex Ferguson has built the third great side of his long
tenure.
Finally, after three barren seasons, not only are Manchester United
firmly in the driving seat for the Premiership title after a 4-1
stuffing of Bolton, there is joy and relief on the terraces that
the boss has ultimately got it right in assembling a team that will
send the club into another lengthy winning cycle.
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--AFP
It has been a case of 'will he, won't he?' in the last couple of
years as the old Tyrannosaurus Rex contemplates retirement but
something deep inside rankled and prevented him from joining the
pensioners.
He has watched in horror as Russian petro-dollars poured into the
Premiership.
He was absolutely aghast when Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon
vowed to turn the Blues into the biggest club in the world.
Worst of all, he had witnessed how a bloodthirsty guttersnipe by
the name of Jose Mourinho landed in England, anointed himself The
Special One and snatched the limelight as the poster boy of
management.
Instead of allowing the Premiership to turn into a one-horse race,
Ferguson, who has countless 'sell by date' stickers plastered on
his head, reacted in the only way he knew how - by not lying down
and putting up the good fight.
At 65-years-young, not only is he still fire and brimstone, he has
recaptured the sheen that once made him such a canny operator in
the transfer market.
RETIREMENT
With his 1994 Double-winning side and the team of the 1999 Treble
lore, nobody would begrudge Ferguson his retirement after two
decades of top, top service. And the time felt right, too, as his
brand of management looks increasingly out-moded as the savvy
Messrs Mourinho, Wenger and Benitez sparked a rage of all things
scientific and foreign.
Failed forays into abject flops like Juan 'Useless' Veron, Liam
Miller, Massimo Taibi, Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Mark
Bosnic lent weight to the argument that the Scotsman had lost
it.
His 'my way or the highway' approach may seem dated in an era of
player power. He has rowed and bombed out Paul Ince, Andrei
Kanchelskis, Paul McGrath, Norman Whiteside, Gordon Strachan,
Dwight Yorke and Jaap Stam in the past.
But in recent seasons, he has even ripped what was perceived as the
heart and soul of the club by giving Roy Keane, David Beckham and
Ruud van Nistelrooy the boot.
Nothing, not even the dissenting opinions of his key players, would
sway him from his great quest to build that elusive third great
team.
The first pieces were already in place as the remnants of Fergie's
Fledglings, the elite trio of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary
Neville, who are deemed still worthy enough to parade their wares
in the Theatre of Dreams.
Next came the solving of the longstanding goalkeeping problem, a
puzzle that neither Taibi, Bosnic, Fabien Barthez could crack but
eventually solved by Edwin van der Sar.
Though his current crop of youngsters are still a tad inferior to
the famous Fledglings, there is also no doubt that Kieran
Richardson, John O'Shea, Wes Brown and Darren Fletcher have been
useful squad members all chipping in their share to the title
assault.
Then, the spine took shape with the arrivals of Rio Ferdinand and
Nemanja Vidic plus a sprinkling of shrewd buys such as Patrice
Evra, Gabriel Heinze and Park Ji Sung gave Ferguson the belief that
he does have a squad that can compete with Chelsea's mountain of
cash.
Most of all, none made more impact than Wayne Rooney and Cristiano
Ronaldo, a pair of 22-year-olds who are propelling the club's
relentless march with oodles of sublime football.
At last, after how his second great era fizzled out after the 2003
title win, Ferguson's has finally assembled a team that is
physically and mentally strong enough to loosen Mourinho's grip on
the championship.
Through the years, the DNA has remained unchanged. For the Steve
Bruce-Gary Pallister defensive axis, there is the outstanding
Ferdinand-Vidic wall of today.
For the midfield industry of Bryan Robson and Roy Keane, there is
the quality work put in by Scholes.
DEMOLITION
And for all the Eric Cantona moments of pure genius, Ronaldo and
Rooney are there to provide them circa 2007.
The Portugese's single-handed demolition of Bolton rendered him
totally unplayable as he provided three brilliant assists before
walking out to a standing ovation in the 70th minute.
Rooney deserved the plaudits as well, breaking at speed with his
side-kick in the 17th minute before notching the goal of the day
with a clever dink over the advancing body of Jussi
Jaaskelainen.
That, is the gospel of football, according to Sir Alex.
How he has bounced back from adversity and returned to the top of
the pile. And how Bolton will return home after being given a right
education.
And here endeth the lesson.
