Don’t blame Fergie for United freefall
THE blame game has started since Manchester United’s mauling in Milton Keynes and nobody has been spared.
Louis van Gaal, only a few weeks into his reign at Old Trafford, has been criticised for picking an inexperienced team, playing a system that is alien to his squad —and signing autographs immediately after that 4-0 defeat.
David Moyes, sacked in April, had the spotlight on him. He was at fault, so the arguments went, because he wasn’t brutal enough when he arrived last summer and failed to get rid of the players who were not up to United standard.
The players have been blasted. So, too, have the Glazer family and chief executive Ed Woodward. But another figure has been embroiled in the post-mortem. When his name was mentioned, however, I found myself shaking my head in disbelief. Sir Alex Ferguson. He should have left a better squad, the theory goes. He left United weak because he did not sign better players and, as a result, his legacy is being damaged because United appear to be in freefall. Van Gaal has claimed he will need a year to turn the situation.
I find it remarkable anyone could genuinely feel Ferguson has anything to do with what is happening now. What we are actually seeing, with each passing week, is how far Ferguson’s genius stretched and just how much of an impact he had on the club.
Consider this: on August 28, 2011, United demolished Arsenal 8-2 at Old Trafford. The performance was widely described as being ‘spell-binding’ and ‘ruthless’ and was the product of slick football. They terrorised Arsenal with the speed of their passing and movement.
The team Ferguson selected that day was as follows: David de Gea; Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra: Nani, Tom Cleverley, Anderson: Ashley Young, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck. Three weeks later, the majority of that team lined up against Chelsea and beat them 3-1.
Makes you think, doesn’t it? Of the XI who tackled Arsenal, all bar Evra started the current campaign at the club. Some, such as Cleverley and Welbeck, could move before the transfer window closes on Monday but three years ago they were being hailed as United’s future.
It has to be said that some of the above named now look distinctly average but Ferguson got the best out of them. He had a unique ability to drive United on to win titles and squeeze every last drop out of his players.
He drummed into them that they were the best and made them believe it.
Ferguson had an aura. It wasn’t just in matches. On a Friday afternoon, you would hear opposition managers talking about what bottle of wine they intended bringing him, sounding beaten before they had turned up at Old Trafford.
We all know he was partial to making comments about referees before big games. And there were times when I saw him waiting in the tunnel for the official. I made it my job to man- mark the referee so Fergie couldn’t bend his ear! United always had a way of winning under Ferguson, even when they were not at their best. You had to fight to the last second for every point you took off them and you always knew how dangerous they were to cope with in the dying moments if a game was delicately poised.
How much was down to him? More than you would think. Last season, they scored seven times between the 81st and 90th minute — the period when they always seemed to get one more chance under Ferguson — but not one goal secured them a point.
In 2012-13, his final campaign, United scored 12 late goals. They were worth nine points.
What United are discovering now is that they are in the real world. Ferguson distorted reality for the Glazers and, in some way, the supporters through his ability to keep getting spectacular results on a consistent basis.
He broke the British transfer record five times before the Glazers came in 2005 but only did it once — for Dimitar Berbatov — after they arrived. Yet between 2007 and 2013, Ferguson led them to the Barclays Premier League five times. The years they missed out (2010 and 2012), they had a chance to win it on the final day.
During a period in which Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich and Manchester City’s Sheik Mansour attempted to exert their financial power, to keep United ahead of the game without spending like their rivals was remarkable. At the start of this season, I said things would never be the same again for Manchester United and the £ 237.1million they have spent since Ferguson has gone into retirement is not going to recreate the success his teams enjoyed for over 20 years.
It was only down to Ferguson that the Glazers never had to spend like this before.
One thing that is beyond doubt is that Manchester United — and football in general — are unlikely to see another like him.
That’s why I find it startling that his name was included in the recriminations that followed United’s Capital One Cup capitulation.
The only mistake Ferguson has made is underestimating just how good he actually was.