I’m sad, tired, hurt – the only pleasure I get from United is drinking from my club mug
EVRA SAYS FERGIE CAME TO GET HIM... NOT A LAWYER
LUTON V MAN UTD 8.15PM
FEW players love Manchester United with the passion and fervour of Patrice Evra.
The former defender is a cult hero at United and that is why his impassioned view, on what he feels is going wrong with the club, will strike such a chord with disillusioned fans.
Evra’s love for United can be traced back to the day Sir Alex Ferguson and then- chief executive David Gill flew to Monaco, in 2005, to persuade him to move to Old Trafford.
Ferguson sold a vision of United, one that was to yield the defender five Premier League titles, the Champions League and three League Cups with them.
But Evra, 39, who made 379 appearances in a nine- year spell, says United have lost their way. Where Ferguson once used his force of personality and stature to land the very best players, now it is left to executive vice- chairman Ed Woodward and chief transfer negotiator Matt Judge.
Evra was downcast as he delivered his verdict, urging United to rediscover their identity and the approach that made them such a formidable club.
“It’s 2am, I can’t sleep because I’m sad, I’m tired, I’m hurt, whatever you call it,” he said. “When my club hurts me so badly
I need to say everything that’s in my chest.
“The only pleasure I get from my club right now is drinking green tea from my Manchester United cup.
“Where do we start? Transfers. At the time of Fergie we didn’t hear anything then it was – bam, bam, bam! Van Persie, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand. Everything fast.
“When United wanted a player, they would just go and talk to him face to face. When Ferguson and Gill came to meet me at Monaco, it was worse than an interview
with the CIA or FBI. Now we send lawyers to talk to players we want to buy. When you send lawyers, you talk about numbers – they’re not from the football world.
“When we want a player who would normally cost £ 20million, we’re trying to buy him for £ 100m – and even those players don’t want our money any more.”
Woodward, who took over from Gill in 2013 when Ferguson also stepped down, has been criticised.
Evra stopped short of putting all the blame on him but suggested Woodward was guilty of putting his faith in the wrong people. “The only problem I would say to Ed is trusting people he should never trust,” added Evra. “He trusts people outside the club.
“My phone is ringing now, from football directors at top, top clubs and they say, ‘ Patrice, can you please ask a certain Matt Judge to answer his phone?’
“We’ve got the money but not the players because we send the wrong people to speak with them.
“Ole [ Gunnar Solskjaer] has changed that and tries to speak with them, like Ferguson used to.
We sent people who knew the club, who loved the club, who knew how to talk about the club.
“I’m not talking like this because we lost our first game of the season. I’m talking about the damage that’s been done since Ferguson and Gill left. I gave everything to United, so that’s why I’m allowed to talk like this, no matter if I make people happy or angry. I don’t care.”