If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
It is quite likely over the rest of the season the inability of Manchester United's keeper to deal with corners and the attendant publicity will lead to free-kicks, yellow cards and possibly worse going against West Ham by referees routinely cowed by the bigger clubs.
At last, a Premier League football manager has gone public and given voice to a dark suspicion that thousands of us fans have harboured for a long time now. Roberto Mancini, may his name be blessed, says that teams facing the Mighty Manchester United are infected with a fatal lack of belief which amounts a lot of the time to actual fear.
When Sir Alex Ferguson's successor wanders through Old Trafford's creaky managerial doors, he'll feel enough pressure already. It will be a hard enough task as it is; the figurative shadow of Sir Alex Ferguson will loom over the new man from the outset, and that's even if results are good.
After calling Newcastle United a 'wee club in the north east' during the aftermath of a thrilling encounter between the Red Devils and Toon Army, Sir Alex Ferguson recently began to backtrack. Renowned for the mind-games he enters with rival managers, Ferguson responded to comments made by Alan Pardew regarding refereeing decisions in the game at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.
I have but one candidate for this title, a man whose personal qualities and actions during his period of tenure put him, I would argue, clear ahead of the field as the worst Old Trafford boss of all time. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: Sir Alex Ferguson.
Racism is of course not solely a football problem. It's a societal problem of which football is its most public symptom. This is why it is so crucial that when it emerges in the game it is dealt with seriously and without any attempt at equivocation or sympathy towards those guilty of propagating or normalising it.
When the most successful British manager of all time eventually retires (or passes on, having endured yet another Nani dribble down a blind alley), who should he hand over his hairdryer and rock-hard lump of wrigleys to? I run down some candidates.
Although this is not an extraordinary occasion - Ferguson has made a habit of excluding journalists and newspapers for years - it is an exceptional one. For it is perhaps the first time Ferguson has meted out an exclusion for writers being right.
Mexico's Olympic gold medalist Hector Herrera could be just what Manchester United's midfield is lacking.
When 'Le Professeur' first joined Arsenal he revolutionised the Premiership with 'The Arsenal Way' and the principles that accompanied this policy. His fitness regimes extended the careers of the 'old guard' of the Arsenal back four, and his training methods re-sculpted and brought the best out of players like Bergkamp and Henry. His scouting network unearthed young talent from across the world, and his tactics delivered success in sublime style.
Robin van Persie is Manchester United's first marquee signing since Dimitar Berbatov in 2008, but can the marquee buy make his mark amidst an overload of attackers at Old Trafford?
Those with heroes all share a propensity for thinking the individuals they adore are somehow infallible. A state of unadulterated perfection is moulde...
Football often delivers curious cases of Déjà vu and if you are Sir Alex Ferguson then 26 years in the job means avoiding them is impossible.
For fans of Manchester United, last night's 2-0 win away at Blackburn was a cause for delirious joy, taking their team five points clear at the top of the table. For everyone else it was a cause for grudging admiration and jealousy of a side that, despite being incredibly average at points this season has an unparalleled ability to produce results.
Who will succeed David Cameron as Conservative leader, Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager or - to take a name almost at random - Professor Les Ebdon as the Director of the Office of Fair Access to Universities?
Now, I'm not a clever-socks sports journalist by the way (I've largely been a women's feature writer the last 17 years) but the reason I wanted to put finger-tip to keyboard today and write is simply this: as well as a fan, as a journalist, I will always have a huge, lasting respect for Sir Alex.
