TERRY VENABLES - Columnist
But I remember when I had to stop one of them from raising his
hands to him.
There will be no such animosity at Old Trafford this afternoon
when Alex Ferguson celebrates 25 years in the United hotseat.
This milestone is the latest in a long list of achievements
which underline why I believe Fergie is the greatest gaffer of the
lot.
Greater than Shankly. Greater than Sir Alf. Greater than
Paisley. Greater than Stein.
Greater even than Sir Matt Busby, who acted as Fergie's
confidant and mentor during his early years in the job.
But I am not even sure the legendary Sir Matt could have
predicted Fergie's longevity after his fellow Scot's sticky start
at United.
I certainly did not — especially after my Tottenham team cranked
up the pressure on him by beating his Red Devils 1-0 at Old
Trafford in December 1989.
At the final whistle the United players were booed by their own
supporters and some idiot jumped over the fence and tried to get at
Fergie as he started to walk back down the tunnel.
Luckily, his assistant Archie Knox and I managed to grab hold of
the bloke before he could do any damage.
It showed how much pressure the manager was under and the
strength of feeling against him at the time.
I doubted then whether he would last the season.
But the United board admirably stuck by their man... and the
rest, as they say, is history.
No fewer than 12 Premier League titles, two European Cups, five
FA Cups, four League Cups, a Cup Winners' Cup and a World Club
Championship proves they were right — and that Fergie is the
master.
The reason he has been so successful for so long is an ability
to reinvent himself and his team line-ups in order to keep up with
the times.
Think how different football was in 1986.
To still be successfully managing arguably the biggest club in
the world 25 years later is some achievement.
Yet, just eight weeks away from his 70th birthday, Ferguson is
still going strong.
That is because, despite his success, he has never stood
still.
He has never been satisfied with what he has won. And rather
than look back, he has continued to look forward. He is an expert
in the art of man-management.
He not only knows how to handle big names, he also knows when to
move them on — as Messrs Beckham and Van Nistelrooy can
testify.
And he managed to build successful team after successful team
without ever letting the trophy cabinet remain unopened for too
long.
Under Fergie, the flame of success at United may have dimmed for
spells but it was never extinguished.
And while the First Division became the Premier League, terraces
turned into seats and the beautiful game became a brand and a
business, Fergie continued to adapt and deliver.
He has struck fear into the hearts of his players, while backing
them to the hilt, even if on occasions it has meant defending the
indefensible.
But I don't mind that because he knows the one golden rule of
management: Your players are everything.
You have to give them all the support they need, despite the
fact there are times when they might not deserve it.
He was always very supportive to me when I was manager of
England.
He never blocked my call-ups nor my appointment of Bryan Robson
to my coaching team for Euro 96.
I am not saying we are best friends but we always have a smile,
handshake and a chat for each other on the rare occasions we bump
into each other. That is despite the fact I have a fairly decent
managerial record against his teams.
In our 11 encounters, I have won four, drawn three and lost
four.
But perhaps my most famous victory against Fergie was beating
him to the signing of Paul Gascoigne.
The Manchester United chief always insists Gazza would have been
better off had he moved to Old Trafford instead of signing for
Spurs in 1988.
I don't agree with that. And to be honest, from the moment I met
Gazza there was no danger of him ever going anywhere else, despite
United's interest.
His big mate Chris Waddle was already at Tottenham and Gazza was
determined to join us.
Fergie was obviously desperate to sign Gazza and to say he was
cheesed off when he didn't get him, is an understatement.
It was arguably one of his most galling defeats but he never
held it against me.
Like I said earlier, he never looks back.
Even on the weekend when we pay tribute to his past 25 years, he
will still be looking to the future.
