Live TV pressure with Fergie and Houllier

Possibly the most camp Fergie picture ever!

I was the first touchline reporter for Premiership Plus, the package of top-flight games which became Setanta, ESPN and now, BT Sport.

Back in 2001, as Jonny On The Spot for the first dozen fixtures on the Premier League's own channel, I grilled Sir Bobby Robson, Gerard Houllier, Claudio Ranieri, Glenn Hoddle, Graeme Souness, Gus Poyet, Teddy Sheringham and ... Sir Alex Ferguson live.

Sir Bobby was the most engaging and enthusiastic of managers. He enjoyed being Toon boss so very much with nothing to prove, and still achieved fifth-placed finishes.

I smiled along with his responses and in reply, he extended each soundbite to about two minutes a pop, grinning back at me with youthful charm. My arm, stretched out underneath his mouth, became so oxygen-starved I had to swap midway through each.

After West Ham’s 7-1 destruction at Blackburn, the lights turned on and my first question to the embattled Glenn Roeder was, “will you resign?”. I regret that. My interview was syndicated to talkSPORT, who said I was insensitive. They were right. It should’ve been my third question.

Walter Smith at Everton was a welcoming wealth of experience. It's no wonder he was a trusted go to guy for Fergie at Old Trafford. And I found Graeme Souness to be honest and engaging. 

Before Manchester United's game at Aston Villa, I entered the dragon's lair to do a live with Fergie. The challenge was to confirm for the first-time a backpage splash which the then United boss did not want to talk about at all!

You see, I had to stand up the abrupt exit of Jaap Stam to Lazio, a News of the World belter from that morning.

Stam's absence from the starting XI was because Fergie had shoved him out of Old Trafford.

As I prepared for the lights, Paddy Harverson, United’s Alastair Campbell spin-type warned me not to ask him why Stam had been ejected so suddenly. It was because the Dutchman had offended him in his autobiography. Stam accused Fergie of trying to sign him without the knowledge of his club, PSV Eindhoven.

The channel which became Setanta, ESPN and now BT.

My friend Gary Newbon, the legendary Central and ITV reporter stood by and gave me a friendly, "don't be a hero, go easy with the questions, live to fight another day".

But I had to ask, how could I avoid it? So after a short negotiation with Harverson, who was much taller than me and used his height advantage menacingly, I did.

Fergie played the game and answered clearly.

I thanked Sir Alex on-air and when the lights went off but made the mistake of thanking him twice. He glared at me like Fulton Mackay out of Porridge. But I must say once he’d decided I was okay, he was fine. Particularly when he saw me again a few midweek days later at Blackburn

He recognized me and was totally disarmed. It was to be the last time our professional paths would cross but I got the impression that if you were trusted, he'd give you access and friendship not open to the wider world.

My few days with Fergie at the height of his career helped me enjoy the rest of his it from my seat in the stands.

Football in the steamy, adrenalin-fuelled matchday cauldron was an eye-opener.

I got sprayed with water by Rio Ferdinand while interviewing Robbie Keane live and got asked to "keep my distance" by Gerard Houllier at Newcastle.

I wasn't sure what the Frenchman meant. Did he mean physically or literally?

So in the ten seconds before the lights went on, I decided he meant both! I stood four steps back and arched my outstretched microphone arm under his mouth in the emergency room.

The Liverpool boss was constantly mopping his brow, sweating profusely. Little did we know it was because his heart was giving in. Six days later, he was fighting for his life.

After Leeds went top of the league with a home win over Derby, I found myself staring into Lee Bowyer's steely-blue eyes, wondering what kind of untamed animal lay behind them.

Shortly after 9/11, I had the privilege of sitting in the best seat at Goodison in-between the subs benches for the Merseyside Derby.

To my right, Robbie Fowler; to my left Gazza.

A highly-charged stadium was reminded through the PA system that football was after all, NOT more important than life or death - and both sets of fans observed an impeccable minute silence to the dead of New York.

And then the football started.

Phil Thompson jumped about the touchline at each challenge (calm down, calm down!) and Everton's Steve Simonsen fisted the perspex between us, strongly disagreeing with a smallish comment I'd made about a heated challenge by one of his teammates.

I loved being Geoff Shreeves for a couple of months - but he can have it. I experienced more than most in that short time - and moreso learned this:

The gentrified opinions of ex-players on TV are born of vague memory, not current experience.

As a refresher, they should go down to the tunnel during half and full-time more often.

Football is different behind closed doors. Very different. 

It's the hope that kills you!

Supporting your team's meant to be a form of escape from life. A release from daily drudgery or a transfer of stress.

Instead, it can send you off into a spiral of doom to a cul de sac of despair.

And when you mix it with politics, what an explosive cocktail that can set off.

Albandoned! Balkan battle is off.

Civilian use of drones is set for a big future - indeed scores of new ideas for commercial use are being devised everyday. But drone use as protest in international football saw a world first when a flag of Greater Albania was flown into a match with Serbia.

Match Abandoned. What a load of Balkans!

Sir Alex Ferguson wasn't the only Manchester United man "distraught" with Nani's red card against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

An armchair United fan from Bingham in Nottinghamshire was so incensed, he phoned emergency services on 999 to complain. Needless to say, the ref remained firm!

When passion outpaces logic that's what happens.

In any other walk of life, you might be sectioned for such behaviour. So why does football always seem to explain and excuse temporary madness?

Erica Roe in her home kit

Do you remember the United fan who lined up with the rest of the team wearing replica kit with black gym socks before kick off? It took stewards 90 seconds before they realised he was an interloper.  Facing forward, arms tucked behind his back, Gary Neville looked quizzical out of his side while trying to  observe the anthem!

TV companies have a policy of turning the camera away from those who invade the pitch lest it encourages a sea of future disruptions.

I well recall a streaker kicking off the 2002 Champions League Final at Hampden. He dribbled through the stationary team of Galacticos (£300m of talent), all waiting for kick-off and the naked man scored! He then did a celebratory moonwalk to a chorus of cheers before the men in yellow and orange bibs whisked him away.

The men in orange and yellow, henchmen the lot of 'em

(By the way I sat next to Andrei Kanchelskis at that game with a bunch of his Russian mates, who'd smuggled vodka in a flask in and were cheerily drinking it during the match. They also didn't see the whole of the game, but that's a different story).

What about the Walsall fan who streaked in the pouring rain during a League Cup tie with West Ham. He was led away by stewards stark bollock naked wrapped in a rug!

But his and the stewards night was far from over.

He then ran home through the streets of Bescot, dried himself down, put fresh clothes on and went back to the game. He got in to the stadium and then streaked again in the second half!

We'd be nowhere without the passions of football fans - and long may it continue!

Rooney's United career hangs in the balance

Rooney and Fergie's relationship: merely professional

Those with a long-term memory for detail at Manchester United might favour showing Wayne Rooney the exit door after talks with David Moyes.

 
Sent home with a hamstring injury just 24 hours after his arrival on the club's preseason tour, Rooney's Old Trafford career's dipped to a new low.

Back home, the England striker's "angered and confused" about his future after Moyes hinted he'd not be first choice.

Moyes insists he "has a major role to play", but "if for any reason we had an injury to Robin van Persie we are going to need him. I want as many options as possible."

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward underlined the stance by declaring no fear in allowing Wazza's contract to run down. But what if Chelsea's overtures to sign Rooney become deafening? The tone of the tough talk might then lighten at Old Trafford.

Jose Mourinho's already confirmed his first bid has been rejected, but strenuously denied offering Juan Mata and David Luiz as makeweights in the deal.

Rooney's dispute is 'afters' over the transfer request he slapped in nearly three years ago when declaring the club lacked ambition.

Remember the saga in 2010? How thickheadedness threatened to put a foot through everything of value in his life; his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson and wife, Colleen? I wrote about it furiously - THRICE. here, here and here!

I was right to think settlement between Fergie and Wazza was a ticking timebomb: that Sir Alex Ferguson had re-signed him, figuring Rooney was valuable to the team even if he had to break his own rules about tolerating such behaviour from one of his players.

Peace broke about between them back then but came at the expense of a distance, a coldness between the pair. Their handshake on the pitch as Fergie waved goodbye to management was much less warm than those shared with Giggs and Scholes.

Bridges built look to be burning down.

Three years on and United can cash in on one of their main transfer assets without losing value to Bosman. 

But the club insists it's not rushing to sign an extension to his deal despite just two years left on it. Neither is he for sale.

The message is clear from new boss David Moyes: play yourself back into contention. Robin van Persie is the 'main man'.

Now Rooney has to build bridges with Moyes, with whom he has a rocky past, including a libel suit that resulted in an apology from Rooney and a reported £50,000-£150,000 settlement for Moyes.

In his 2006 autobiography "Wayne Rooney: My Story So Far," Rooney accused Moyes of leaking the details of a conversation they had while they were both at Everton in 2004.

Rooney wrote that he told Moyes he wanted out of Everton after tabloids caught him visiting a prostitute. The next day the Liverpool Echo ran a story about the conversation, and Rooney wrote in his book that Moyes was the one who spilled the beans.

After the book came out, Moyes sued Rooney, HarperCollins, and co-author Hunter Davies for libel — saying the accusation that he threw Rooney out was "wholly untrue."

In 2008, the suit was settled before a trial. Rooney "sincerely apologized" and paid damages and legal costs worth £500,000, according to the Guardian, £50,000-£150,000 of that is believed to have gone to Moyes.

Despite Rooney insisting his battle with United in 2010 wasn't about money - more a lack of ambition at Old Trafford, United gave him a contract extension and a massive pay-hike.

But as Rooney and his representatives consider what to do with New United, perhaps they should be armed with the words of Roy Keane ringing in their minds.

Plain-speaking Keane, who's twelve years at Old Trafford ended after a spat with Sr Alex in 2005 said, "I would tell Wayne, who's a good lad, to make sure he looks after number one.

"Players are pieces of meat. When your time's up, it's up. Luckily for Wayne, he's at a good age and he's fit".

Keano's falling out with Fergie was at the end of his career - a few months at Celtic proved his swansong.

The first years of Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa plus the emergence of Danny Welbeck, put unprecedented pressure on Sir Alex's then 'main man'.

His £10m a year wages plus United's inevitably daunting asking price puts paid to pretty much everyone's interest.

As with every top player in crisis, the only way to emerge better is to play yourself back into contention. Chelsea have emerged from the bushes like speculative hunters and despite his baggage, Rooney would be quite a trophy bagged.

Jose Mourinho can smell an opportunity. He's said England would be affected by a Rooney who wasn't first-choice at Old Trafford, hinting he could be the main man in blue.

Despite the talk, United may well be warned by Chelsea's interest to insist he's not for sale, then listen to eye-watering offers for his services at a time to suit them.

How much was Fergie worth to United's success?

Early Moyes shot in new training kit with unretiring Fergie

The 3D personality of Sir Alex Ferguson dragged an average Manchester United over the line and the difference in points between last season and this will tell us the exact worth of all the inspiring, cajoling and intimidating.

United fans are putting on a brave face but worry lines will appear once it becomes apparent the control Sir Alex exercised through results no longer exists.

There will be no Moyesy-time, no banning of reporters, no imagined injuries preventing players joining up with national teams - and there will be no title.

After 26 years of bullying, match day officials must feel relieved. No longer will a game at Old Trafford be one to be dreaded and they can do their job without fear of private admonishment or public ridicule. The new man can tap his expensive watch all he likes but he has won nothing and his histrionics will count for little.

Fergie's last day as United boss at WBA

Journalists, too, will be able to ask a reasonable pre-match question without the prospect of a bollocking or a ban. After games the written press and media other than MUTV will be allowed to talk to the United manager. It is unimaginable that any other manager will ever be allowed the treat the media with the same contempt Ferguson displayed.

The Premier League maybe the most successful in the world but Richard Scudamore’s failure to stand up to Sir Alex was weak.  Can you imagine the manager of, say, the New York Yankees refusing to talk to the media after games? He would last less than a minute as would the Major League Baseball commissioner.

England will also benefit from the the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson. His antipathy towards the Football Association manifested itself in his refusal to let players join up with the national team if he felt it was against the interests of Manchester United. Fair enough, United pay their wages but would he have acted in the same way if the national team had been Scotland? It was another abuse of power that the FA declined to do anything about.

Different tracksuit, same face-to-face needed

Roy Hodgson’s team is built around young mobile United players. Wayne Rooney (if he stays), Phil Jones, Tom Cleverly, Danny Welbeck, Chris Smalling and Wilfred Zaha will all be more available to England.

This is how Sir Alex won titles and why David Moyes will find it difficult especially in his first  year. Through his success Ferguson became not just bigger than the club but more powerful than those running the game.

As of now, without a single result to his name at United, Moyes is merely another dimensional manager ready to be chewed up and spat out by those his predecessor treated with disdain. 

Is Moyes really United's best option?

David Moyes needs a holiday.

Every kick on the touchline

The pasty-faced Scot could do with some sunshine before he becomes a pale imitation of the red one.

His appointment as Manchester United manager is a snapshot of the moment. United could, apparently, do no better than the sixth best manager in the Premier League; the universal acclaim with which his succession to the throne at Old Trafford has been greeted hides some uncomfortable truths.

His Champions League experience amounts to two games. Both 2-1 defeats in 2005 to, an admittedly very useful, Villareal. He has never won a trophy and the football Everton have played in his eleven years lacked flair, imagination and style. Functional, you might say.

Also swept under the astroturf are Everton’s habitual slow start and the exasperation of long suffering Evertonians. The failure to make much of an impression in the cups came to a head in March following the pathetic performance in the FA Cup quarter final defeat at home to Wigan. The reaction was rancorous.

Everton never won at Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United while he was manager.

Sir Alex shared wine, drunk wine and sold wine.

Moyes is from Glasgow, a hard worker and, crucially, a mate of Sir Alex’s so these shortcomings were overlooked.

How wise it was to have allowed Sir Alex so much input in choosing his successor and make him a director as well as an ambassador remains to be seen.

Moyes, although respectful of his predecessor in a slightly fearful way, is strong enough to be his own man but will soon find himself compromised if every decision that has to ratified upstairs has to suit Sir Alex or face a veto.

The Glazers, who operate United in a parallel universe governed by the New York Stock Exchange, probably see the successor to chief executive and vice chairman David Gill as far more important in maintaining the brand. As long as they keep signing big name players - any stars will do - and winning trophies - any silverware will do - the sponsors will be happy. 

Brand = First Team + Silverware x History.

United should have cast aside sentiment and hired the best man they could for the job and that man is Jose Mourinho. They would also have had a better chance of luring Cristiano Ronaldo back to Manchester.

Ronaldo in a United shirt is as unlikely as this!

At the Bernabeu a couple of weeks ago I could see that any link between Ronaldo and United is ridiculous.

He runs the team and will be Real Madrid player next year, whoever's in the dugout as boss. The paper talk is nonsense as Ronaldo's outgrown United especially now Fergie's not in the dressing room.

He is a Latino and the focus of Real’s world. Why would he want to play for a dour tactician who will never extend the special treatment he receives at Real?

He knows where the sun shines and it is not in Manchester.

Click here for the current Top Story Soccermongery's all about your feedback, so write away, right away!

Fergie hints at continued influence at United

Thanks for 2004 to 2010, Wayne.

It was his last home game at Old Trafford and Sir Alex Ferguson received rightful rapturous applause for 26 years of magnificent management at Manchester United.

United beat Swansea 2-1 with a typical late strike, the signature and style of so many United triumphs over the years.

He gave a candid series of after-match interviews and confirmed his retirement had been planned for months, and it's largely down to personal reasons.

I revealed earlier this season that David Gill had announced his departure from Old Trafford before Fergie so as not to upstage the big man’s retirement. Privately, Gill had always vowed never to leave the club while Fergie was manager.

Because I'm worth it.

It was a real signal that moves were afoot for a change at the helm.

But Sir Alex also says the death of his wife's sister played a big part in him deciding to step down as manager.

But if you think Sir Alex is going quietly, think again. He also confirmed Wayne Rooney slapped in another transfer request. And he’d said NO!

He says the player has grown frustrated at being substituted in recent games.

Humility nay slight embarrassment. "I'm joining United."

Fergie says we won’t let him leave. The clearest indication yet that Fergie will be Director …of Football. Some of Moyes’ decisions will be ratified - or hamstrung by Fergie’s determination and experience. "Don't worry about that!"

When Bill Shankly left Liverpool, the Anfield board were determined that he was ushered away so Bob Paisley could run the team. They’d learned from Matt Busby’s continued presence which hung like a shadow over his successors.

The difference is David Moyes has managerial pedigree – but don’t think Fergie won’t have a say in some of the key personnel decisions as his comments implied so yesterday.

LMA statement on Sir Alex Ferguson

71-year-old Fergie: "right time" to quit

The League Managers Association (LMA) would like to congratulate Sir Alex Ferguson CBE on a truly remarkable and fantastic career following his announcement today that he will retire at the end of the season.

Howard Wilkinson, chairman of the LMA said;

“Today’s news draws to a close the career of a man and a manager, the likes of which we will never see again. His public face was always that of the ultimate professional with a fierce pride and determination to do the very best for his club. His frighteningly competitive nature has never nor ever will be equalled. He is the epitome of the mantra ‘Survive, Win, Succeed’. But, in private, with those he trusted, he was the very best sort of friend you could ever wish for. To say his presence on th
e bench will be sorely missed in no way begins to describe the massive hole he will leave behind. He always said he was too old to retire, let’s hope he manages to enjoy the retirement he deserves.”

Richard Bevan, chief executive of the LMA said:

“Sir Alex has left an indelible legacy not only at Manchester United but on the art of football management itself. 36 major trophies in 26 years in charge of the Club is a record that simply speaks for itself. It’s not just his longevity in the game, at one of the world’s biggest and most demanding clubs which is remarkable, rather it has been his ability to consistently deliver the highest levels of success throughout his 40 years and over 2150 matches in football management. What Sir Alex has achieved personally with both Manchester United and Aberdeen, where he broke the Old Firm stranglehold in winning 10 trophies in seven years before his appointment at Old Trafford, is unrivalled. At the LMA we are also extremely grateful for the amount of time and dedication he has willingly provided to our association and our members since he first joined in 1986. His input as an Executive Board member and Trustee has been invaluable in the development of the LMA. As he retires as the most successful manager in the history of the British game we congratulate him on a magnificent career and wish him all the very best for the future.”

Sir Alex Ferguson retires at Manchester United

One more shot at the big one, but no way Jose at United

Sir Alex Ferguson will retire at the end of the season. May 19th will see Fergie manage United for the last time against WBA, 26 and a half years after taking over from Ron Atkinson in November 1986.

But he's not leaving the building. He'll become a club director and ambassador. Where that fits in with his successor remains to be seen.

United have planned for this. Believe me, this hasn't caught them on the hop. This has been on the cards for a decade. The new manager will be unveiled in the coming days as soon as he's resigned his current post.

When Sir Alex announced his retirement TWELVE years ago, it was an orchestrated procession lasting an excruciating whole season. The countdown to it reduced United from treble-winners and perennial champions to 3rd placed also-rans – 3 times in 4 seasons in fact.

Fergie's extraordinary volto-face all those years ago, signalled continued, uninterrupted success right up to now. He's just claimed his thirteenth Premier League title.

But his decision to carry on wasn't about his own private concerns about dying soon after stepping away from the limelight. His own father passed away shortly after retiring. It was about moves afoot on the United board which he couldn't abide.

Then chief executive Peter Kenyon went out on a limb to get then England manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson without buy-in from the rest of the board.

And when Sir Alex found out he said, "He's not going to inherit my bloody team!". Fergie stayed.

That’s why all talk of his retirement this time has been reduced to wee news conference nuggets – about carrying on as long as his good health allowed it – or I’ll go in two or three years time.

David Gill, 10 years United’s chief executive, who privately said he’d never quit while Sir Alex remained manager did just that. He goes in June. The idea being his departure wouldn’t overshadow the great man’s own announcement when it came.

David Moyes, for many the lead successor to Fergie is thought to be in the frame.

But even though the stand out candidate, Everton's manager doesn’t entirely fit the United board’s criterion to be manager. Substantial Champions League experience is missing from his CV. Privately, Moyes expressed reservations about succeeding Fergie immediately anyway.

Given the immense job of replacing such a huge character, United's choice of successor is tough one. Everton's chairman Bill Kenwright said he'd personally drive Moyes to Old Trafford to succeed Sir Alex. (I bloody wouldn't).

So the surprise is after all the talk and posturing over many years, as the United job becomes available, Jose Mourinho's not in the frame, despite all the years he coveted it.

Will the FA or anyone ever stand up to Fergie?

On Thursday, England manager Roy Hodgson included in-form Manchester United centre-half Rio Ferdinand in his squad for the World Cupqualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro.

On Friday, Sir Alex Ferguson expressed surprise at Ferdinand’s call-up and doubts about his fitness.

On Saturday, despite Rio's marauding run single-handedly creating Wayne Rooney's match-winner against Reading, Fergie hinted at his irritation with a caustic remark about the decreasing features of Rio's game. 

What's the point of cordial relations without co-operation?

On Monday, Rio withdrew citing the conflict between micro-managing his long term back problem with training, travelling and playing for England.

Cue pelters for Roy and his lack of communication and for Rio and the perceived revenge for his exclusion ‘for footballing reasons’ from last summer’s European Championship.

This, though, was another example of how Sir Alex Ferguson operates when he feels the interests of the Premier League’s most successful club are under threat. As he himself is fond of saying, ‘control comes with results’ and he needs to control everything and everybody.

Sir Alex intimidates match officials and the media and manipulates the Premier League and the Football Association. Anybody who questions his conduct is berated or banned.

He refused to speak to the BBC for seven years after they made allegations about his son’s activities as an agent. He threatened legal action. None came. He wanted an apology. None came.

Draw your own conclusions.

Only occasionally the tendency to tyranny is exposed. Like the time he was heard at a news conference trying to ban reporter Rob Harris of Associated Press for making a routine enquiry on Ryan Giggs. More often than not he gets away with it because the people who should have put a stop to this years ago are scared of him.

Can you imagine the manager of the New York Yankees refusing to talk to a rights holder for seven years without Major League Baseball intervening or the Dallas Cowboys coach demanding a reporter be banned for asking a question and the NFL standing idly by?

Perhaps Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is too busy counting beans and his chairman Sir Dave Richards too embarrassed after yet another incident involving alcohol and a water feature.

Which leaves English football’s governing body. When he started talking to the BBC again just about the first thing Ferguson said was,

Richards' speech was daft enough without this indiscretion

“The FA treats us like sh*t.”

There is no record of David Bernstein, one of the best chairmen the FA has ever had, or General Secretary Alex Horne saying a word about Ferguson’s arrogant and damaging behaviour.

    

Only the FA have a range of objectives that clash with Fergie's agenda.

So when Roy Hodgson is forced to play midfielder Michael Carrick at centre-back against Montenegro because there is nobody else and England draw or lose a game they must win, it is because the men who should have stood up to a tyrant never did.

With United fan and former Old Trafford director, Greg Dyke about to take the reigns at Wembley, the chances of that happening are set to diminish even further.

The wrong noise from Moyes

Defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup was a bad day at the office

The outpouring of vitriol from Everton fans last weekend must've taken David Moyes aback, but he only has himself to blame.

The FA Cup defeat at home to Wigan was a proper beating and many an Evertonian wanted a word. The Gwladys Street faithful seem divided and the loss of respect for their honest, hardworking and long-serving manager is sad but predictable.

In November, Moyes said he would wait until the end of January before discussing a new contract but in the middle of February he said,

“.....I want to see how the team do. I want to see if we’ve got a realistic chance of getting into Europe, or if we can get to a cup final. I want to see how well we progress and what we do.”

Messrs. Kenwright and Moyes enjoy good relations

For an experienced manager it was an extraordinary statement but not without precedent. In 2001 Moyes’ friend and rival Sir Alex Ferguson made a similar gaffe: he said he was going to quit United in a year's time. The team lost form and, crucially, Sir Alex lost the ability to impose discipline on his squad. United finished third, in a four year stretch where there were two other third-placed seasons too.

More uncertain individual and collective performances could be avoided by the signing of a new Goodison contract - failing that the Everton chairman Bill Kenwright could pull the same stunt as Peter Kenyon did at United. The spur for Sir Alex’s change of mind was the chief executive’s plan to replace him with Sven Goran Eriksson.

“I’m not having him take over my f***ing team!”

Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Moyes are the three longest serving managers in English professional football; they have earned the rare right to decide whether to stay or go. Every manager, though, has a shelf life and, with his ill-timed statement, Moyes gave the players a marker pen and asked them to fill out a best before label and stick it on his forehead.

The uncertainty surrounding the ownership of Everton must also be wearing for all concerned. Kenwright has been trying to sell the club for years and even though the price is right, around £125 million, there have been no takers.

Moyes' record as boss, coach and talent developer is top,

To prospective buyers the club must seem old fashioned and overshadowed. Goodison Park is a classic football ground but matchday income is limited and the near neighbours with their bulging, if slightly dusty, trophy cabinet, American owners and fancy football are more glamorous.

It would be like buying Espanyol.

With his straightforward, grinding football, the Glaswegian has done his damnedest to elevate Everton above the Red mist. Only Sir Alex can match his three LMA Manager of the Year gongs. His work ethic, eye for a player and man-management are beyond reproach. Many a club, here and abroad, would love a manager of his calibre.

Moyes is 50 next month and maybe he has decided it is time to move on. A win at Anfield on May 4th would be a fitting leaving present.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Wazza

The kick that disrupted EURO 2012

They might’ve won the FA Cup more than anyone else but the insatiable Manchester United winning machine’s been without it in the trophy cabinet for eight years.

If they’re to break Chelsea’s recent dominance, they’ll need Wayne Rooney bang in form, in match winning mood.

United beat West Ham 1-nil to reach the fourth round this week, but the story might’ve been different story if the Hammers had taken their chances.


Hammering in the advantage

Wazza scored the winner – but also missed a penalty.

He’s missed ten spotkicks as a United player. Okay, he scored too but for a world-class performer, he’s quite a complicated soul.

Whatever they say, a succession of injuries indicates a certain lack of core fitness.

Elbow are also from Greater Manchester

There’s an old maxim that fit players don’t get injured.

Rooney said recently that Robin Van Persie – not him, was now Manchester United’s talisman.

This is a snapshot of his state of mind. With recent injuries, perhaps they explain why his career hasn’t taken off in the same way as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Rooney was definitely a peer of the pair after his sensational EURO 2004 show, but layoffs, disciplinary tangles and bad headlines in the press have left him battle-scarred.

Even if he's got the appetite for playing, does he still have the confidence in his own ability to perform?

There’s still more to come from Wayne Rooney, but fans of both United and England will look to him for a sustained period of consistent match-fitness and personal discipline.

Is this the end for Paul Scholes?

Quit England in 2004, Nine more years as a United player.

The Daily Mail and The Sun claim the Manchester United legend is set to call it a day once and for all.

The Player's Player, widely regarded by the great and the good as one of the world's most accomplished midfielders, is 38. Can he give any more? Will Sir Alex Ferguson tempt him to stay on? On Mayan Day, Jonny hints that the end of the Scholes is nigh.

listen to ‘Is this the end for Paul Scholes?’ on Audioboo

Retirement talk leaves United and Fergie at odds

It's the truth that daren't speak its name at Old Trafford. When is Sir Alex Ferguson going to retire?

 

It's a question being asked of The Govanator more and more frequently - and his answer is always along the lines of "it's not on the horizon".

It's the measure of true greatness

Seasoned Fergie Watchers know why. Firstly, way way back in 2001, when he announced his retirement with a year's notice, the lap of honour descended into indiscipline, no trophies for nearly three seasons, home defeats by Middlesbrough and three third-placed finishes in four seasons.

Secondly, everyone knows Fergie is deeply affected by the death of his own father soon after his retirement. "Such talk is for the young", and "without work, there's nothing else". If there's one thing uniting Fergie with Arsene Wenger, it's on wearing carpet slippers after 60-years-old.

And since establishing that mentality, doesn't Sir Alex look well and in command? It's a long way from the mid-nineties when he looked vulnerable. His face was blotchy, his hairdryers were powered by Sellafield.



Utd ledge now ex-City journeyman. No chance Sparky.

It's even rumoured that Bryan Robson was packed off to Middlesbrough as player-manager because a poll in the Manchester Evening News had Captain Marvel ahead of Fergie as the fan's choice for manager. How insane does that look now?

Now even his glasses look modern and he's learned not to throw his chewy on the floor at the full-time whistle!

Football, bloody 'ell.

Well, this is all fine and dandy for Fergie - but it's not particularly helpful for the raging multinational, multi-income streamed business model that he helped create.

As time draws on, Manchester United's board and owners will need to defend their market position against the likes of Barcelona, Milan and the Noisy Neighbours with a bloodless succession.

But how can they deny Fergie when he keeps winning? As he nudges 70, isn't this a niggling issue at Old Trafford? Would the board be cynical enough to sack him if United went on a hideous run of results or after a catalogue of player indiscipline?

But who for the toughest act to follow in football? comically, it's been on the news agenda for over a decade and thrown up some names, which in hindsight, look absolutely ridiculous.

Can Jose's reputation outlast Fergietime?

Serious candidates have come and gone: even Roy Keane, Steve Bruce and Mark McGhee were talked of. More recently it was Steve McClaren, Sven-Goran Eriksson (that nearly did happen) and Martin O'Neill. Then Mark Hughes and David Moyes.

Now we're left with Jose Mourinho, who's long expressed the desire to return to the Premier League with United. Trouble is, his tenure at Real Madrid may be exposed to the Latin winds of change far quicker than Ferguson's desire to step aside here.

It's left to speculation as to who might be regarded as a top or available boss in three years time! Moyes is the leading domestic name, although sources on Merseyside reckon he'd only want to be next but one boss at Old Trafford.

So when Fergie does go this time, I predict it'll be a coat and dagger affair. As discreet as United can be, he will go and a new manager will be unveiled - all in 24 hours and probably in June. I'm not even going to predict the year!

But I also believe Sir Alex needs to be remembered as much for the way he stepped down as for his phenomenal success. He owes it to both his successor and the club.

Click here for the current Top Story Soccermongery's all about your feedback, so write away, right away!

Just accept it. Moyes is happy at Everton!

Manager of the month for September 2012

Whenever Sir Alex Ferguson fields succession questions in those rambling Friday news conferences, when the likes of Spurs and Villa seek new managers, it's been David Moyes who's provided the easy headline.

How long will he stay at Goodison before feeling the need to exercise the wider resources or cheque book of a bigger club? When will ten-years-and-counting be enough for him to cease making silk purses out of sow's ears down Gwladys Street?

But sooner or later, we'll have to face the facts - and it doesn't suit sports journalists looking for a great story.

He's happy at Everton and wants to stay.

Birmingham Evening Mail: Moyes link was serious

Moyes clearly has a special relationship with owner Bill Kenwright and that's just as well - because he's going nowhere either!

Everton's been For Sale for years but as Keith Harris, who's found investors for five Premier League clubs and was charged with finding a buyer for the Blues, conceded that in a economically humble city with Liverpool FC in it too, investors aren't exactly going to beat down the door.

Kenwright once said that if Moyes wanted the keys to United post-Alex, he'd personally chauffeur him to Old Trafford.

But that won't happen either! Well, not in the foreseeable future.

Because while he's not discounting the Old Trafford job, Moyes has privately admitted to those on Merseyside that he'd rather be the next-but-one Old Trafford boss.

Succeeding a legend like Fergie is a hiding to nothing, a poisoned chalice: canny Moyes would rather wait for the itinerant Jose Mourinho or Michael Phelan to shuffle off and keep the seat warm for him instead.

And why would he leave Everton at the moment? His current squad is widely regarded as his best yet. Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines are in contention to become England regulars and Silvain Distin's a great pro, while Jelavic and Fellaini bring craft and quality to their attack. The return of Steven Pienaar and experience of Philip Neville means the Toffees hold their own in midfield.

The toughest act to follow: this one's twenty years ago.

This is a breakthrough season - because even if Everton don't qualify for Europe, they'll probably achieve something not yet done in Moyes' reign: finishing above Liverpool for a second season running. This is a step to establishing Everton as a major club.

Moyes' stock and reputation's at an all-time high too. He's won the LMA Manager of the Year award three times - only Sir Alex can match that achievement.

Financial Fairplay rules will reward parsimonious stability too. The meek shall inherit the earth. It's what the boardrooms at Everton and indeed Arsenal have been banking on for years - through barren trophyless campaigns.

Then there's the 70% rise in TV rights: that'll make for a more level playing field when Everton compete with bigger clubs for players.

And when you take all of this into account, where's better for Moyes to manage?

No. David Moyes is a Toffee into the future and the rest of us will just have to chew over that.

Beware Citeh! Fergie's warpath target is the title

There's no one better at setting and achieving goals than Sir Alex Ferguson. Whether Manchester United win trophies or not, you can guarantee Fergie resets his ambitions to square one every August. It's the only viable explanation for the club's astonishing consistency in retaining or reclaiming silverware.

Fergie's first Premier League title in 1993

And the 70-year-old's challenged his squad to reclaim the title after City pipped them on goal difference last term; "We have to recover, as we've done many times. That's our target this year."

And when the Govanator insists recapturing the Premier League title is his "number one priority", the noisy neighbours had better sit up and pay attention:

Every time United have finished runners-up under Fergie, they've gone on to reclaim the prize next time - and then some! In 1996, they claimed the double, in 1999, it was the treble plus 2007 and 2011.

United will be strengthened by the return from injury of Chris Smalling and Nemanja Vidic, akin to a new top-level signing.

United's midfield looked distinctly light-touch compared to previous incarnations. So weak last season, it's underperformance encouraged Fergie to tempt Paul Scholes out of retirement, as Ryan Giggs continued to deliver at 37. With Ji-Sung Park transferred and Darren Fletcher's ulcerative colitis ruling him out for an unspecified timespan, Fergie (rather like the unfortunate Fletcher) has begun reconstruction in the middle.

Nick Powell's arrived from Crewe Alexandra and Japan international Shinji Kagawa's been signed from Borussia Dortmund.

Fergie's new midfield: adding numbers to experience.

City will be under considerable pressure on two fronts this year: having set the bar at title-winning level, their squad of millionaires will be expected to finish top again while at the same time, fairing much, much better in the Champions League.

Perhaps pivotal in the title race is the unknown variable of a player's future: of a man who doesn't even play for either of the Mancunian protagonists. 

Robin Van Persie's recent refusal to put pen to paper on a new Arsenal contract's ignited an almighty scramble for his services: a battle which Fergie claims he's won. Time will tell whether the Dutchman will pick United over City, who are willing to pay him more and Juventus, who are touting a completely new challenge in Serie A.

United actually finished their last season top when the final whistle blew at Sunderland; but that was minutes before City's last-gasp come-from-behind win at home to QPR.

But if City are favourites with the bookies at the start, perhaps the clever money's on United to wrest control of the coveted trophy come May next year.

It's hard to deny Fergie's extraordinary hunger for success and achievement.

Managing players the critical difference between Fergie and Mancini

As Manchester City's title bid choked at Arsenal, it was perhaps inevitable that the headlines should be made by one of their players - rather than one from the victorious Gunners.

Mario Balotelli's disgraceful lack of self-discipline ended in a last-minute red card and left City boss Roberto Mancini pondering whether to play him ever again and to ditch him in the summer.

Teammates Joe Hart and Vincent Kompany were seething as they left the pitch after defeat. Oh to be a fly on the wall in the City dressing room afterwards.

But the truth is Balotelli shouldn't have been on the park anyway: the boss should've subbed him at halftime. And therein lies the key difference between Mancini and his managerial title rival, Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Fergie realises the overriding truth that players lose managers their jobs. Imagine Balotelli at United? Not once the Govanator had taken advice from one of the Italian's former bosses at Inter, Jose Mourinho. The Special One sold him to City.

Mancini has shown exceptional patience with both Balotelli and Carlos Tevez and his loyalty's not been rewarded. Fergie's demonstrated time and again that if he's crossed, it's curtains at Old Trafford.

Because the noxious cloud of Balotelli's show enveloped that other miscreant star of the Mancini regime who was also playing. Tevez was so key to City last season and but for six months of tabloid tantrums and AWOL's may well have pushed City over the title line at the expense of United this campaign.

City have splashed out millions on their squad but there's no substitute for experience, continuity and management. Brian Marwood, the conduit between players and the board, revealed the City strategy: win a first title, then invest in youth from there.

It's foundering and largely because Mancini hasn't been ruthless enough with the ill-disciplined elements of his squad.

Can Mourinho's stock remain high long enough to win battle of succession at United?

Alex Ferguson in 1986

Since Sir Alex Ferguson announced "three more years" just before the shock defeat to Blackburn, the spotlight on succession at Old Trafford has intensified. The three-nil defeat at Newcastle doesn't help Fergie either.

Fergie cites good health and vigour for staying on. He's just turned 70 having completed a quarter-century at Old Trafford in November. Winning is a great tonic and he does seem in rude health.

But just as the England job is dubbed a poisoned chalice, United is whatever the opposite of that is: a refreshing glass of water on a summer's day perhaps -  it's an urgent requirement for those with wildblood..

O'Neill at Sunderland: contender for United job.

Of the two perennial frontrunners, one's sharpened his credentials just by taking a high profile job in the Premier League; the other jokingly referred to a return to a big stage in England in two years, made days before Fergie's seemingly unprompted remark.

I talk of course of Martin O'Neill and Jose Mourinho. O'Neill, whose sheer force of intellect and personality light up wherever he goes, would be a Sunderland hero with Europa League qualification or a trophy. The Roker Roar's been on mute since they left Roker.

Mourinho is the itinerant winning machine. So portable and successful in England, Italy and now Spain at the world's most glamorous club stage. His Midas touch is so powerful, he even got an assist in Andre Villas-Boas' big chance at Chelsea just by being young Portuguese and winning at Porto in similar fashion.

As with Inter, Mourinho's got to wrestle with the best Barcelona of all-time, but as in Italy where Milan and Juventus were beaten off, who'd back against the Portugeezer?

The Special Two

United must learn from their own history though. They've attempted to replace the irreplaceable before. When Sir Matt Busby left, United scrambled round for the right man, a decision at which they repeatedly failed, ending in tearful relegation.



So how to replace the greatest club manager of all time? well, it's got to be someone who consigns United's immediate regime to the past while continually winning at the same pace. A contradiction in terms surely not lost on the Old Trafford ownership. 

Chin up. Mourinho's eyeing Old Trafford

But in reality, it's no different to the way Fergie runs United now. He enjoys the win for a couple of days, then sets the clock back to zero ready to conquer again.
And in both leading candidates, they have the capacity to create distracting tabloid headlines to focus on the hype of the present and ensure the past is the inspiration not the millstone.

Yes, there's other candidates I've not mentioned here: David Moyes, Josep Guardiola, even Eric Cantona's name gets chucked in occasionally, but why look further when there are two outstanding candidates with the all-round CV?

If Mourinho can maintain his reputation as the Special One, I take him to replace Ferguson when the Govanator calls time as Old Trafford's ultimate keeper of the temple.

With that stand named after Sir Alex and squad problems, will the opportunity come faster than the Special One thought?

How 25 years of Ferguson at Manchester United started

Clear vision for United from the start

Sir Alex Ferguson's been Manchester United boss so long, half his players weren't even born when he stepped into Old Trafford in November 1986.

As CEO of @sportsmediaUK, I commissioned a radio documentary on his time at United but for one reason or another, we never aired it. I'm now delighted to be serialising it here on Soccermongery to coincide with Fergie's 25 year anniversary as United boss.

United's previous manager!

Here's Episode 1: starting just before Fergie's arrival. FA Cup winner Ron Atkinson was sacked as United sunk to one of their lowest ebbs. Liverpool were out in front as England's foremost club with multiple League, Cup and European successes. Survival in the old First Division was far from assured for United and drastic action was required from the board.

They looked to the Aberdeen manager who'd taken on and beaten the Old Firm to put the Dons at the top of Scottish football.

Tom Tyrrell was Piccadilly Radio's Manchester United reporter from the start of Fergie's reign. He's been eyewitness to, and been on the receiving end of, Fergie's infamous hairdryer - but survived to collect all of the audio interviews in this great radio programme.

Click here for the current Top Story Soccermongery's all about your feedback, so write away, right away!