Wednesday, May 8, 2002
Yes, F is for Fergie and Juan-nil to the Arsenal
By Matt Lawton

Manchester United v Arsenal, Old Trafford 20.00 BST

Not even in the swearing stakes can Sir Alex Ferguson consider himself superior to Arsenal this season.
Frederik Ljungberg celebrates
A fuckin' great goal from Freddie Ljungberg in Cardiff on Saturday
(ShaunBotterill/Allsport)
Three days before Manchester United's manager hit the headlines for his latest foul-mouthed rant, Arsenal's Freddie Ljungberg was stunning millions on live television in similarly spectacular four-letter fashion.

'How does it feel to win the FA Cup?' asked Sky's Nick Collins. 'Fucking great,' replied a Swede who should now be known as Effing Freddie.

Effing Fergie, who was probably unaware of this, having spent last Saturday at the races, let rip before a somewhat smaller audience, a nation discovering the nature of his outburst only after the football writers present reported his angry defence of Juan Sebastian Veron.

It had everybody talking yesterday.

During Arsene Wenger's press conference it was the subject of some discussion, while at Liverpool a visibly fitter, healthier Gerard Houllier allowed his curiosity to get the better of him. 'Were you there?' he asked, chuckling at the thought of his friend and rival blowing a fuse.

This was nothing new for Ferguson. He has been bullying journalists, as he has some of his players, for years.

One of the more memorable incidents involved a girl who was spending a few days on work experience with the club's press office.

Ferguson objected to an article concerning his captain, Roy Keane, and delivered a typically blistering tirade in the direction of its author.

The teenager, positioned alongside the press officer, had to sit through every word before following a fuming Ferguson out of the room. 'Sorry about that,' said a slightly embarrassed Ferguson as he turned to the youngster on the steps.

He has been known, to the amusement of those who witnessed it, to vent his fury at the wrong reporter. 'What was that shit you wrote this morning?' Ferguson demanded to know.

'What shit?' came the reply. 'I haven't written anything this morning.'

It was, he discovered, a case of mistaken identity. And few who attended the club's open day prior to the 1999 European Cup Final will forget his absurd behaviour.

Ferguson had demanded that his players be interviewed in pairs on the indoor pitch at United's old training ground, The Cliff. Ryan Giggs and Teddy Sheringham ignored those orders, prompting Ferguson to scream and bawl from the gallery.

'Teddy!' he bellowed. 'Sit with Ryan.'

Rather like the reporters who often delight in regaling such tales at the bar, Giggs and Sheringham ignored their manager and continued to chat happily with the press. They were, they felt, just getting on with their jobs.

There are times when Ferguson can act appallingly, when he affords those he deals with so little respect it borders on insulting.

But there remain other occasions when the 60-year-old Scot can be quite the opposite, when the most successful manager of a generation can be genuinely engaging company.

The morning after his United side lifted the European Cup was the perfect example, as was last summer's pre-season tour to the Far East.

Ferguson was charming to the members of the media who travelled with the team, sharing a joke by the pool and greeting them warmly whenever contact was made.

To believe Monday's eruption represented anything more than a release of frustration would be foolish indeed. Ferguson is at his most dangerous when wounded, and those who think he might now be losing the plot would be very much mistaken.

If Ferguson has lost out this season, it is only because of decisions he made months before Arsenal had an opportunity to complete a second domestic Double in four years at Old Trafford this evening.

Eight Premiership defeats, the purchase of Veron and the sale of Jaap Stam are to blame for a campaign that threatens to end trophyless. Not the complexities of the Ferguson mind.

He will fight back. Of that there is little doubt. In the summer of 1995 the Manchester Evening News dared to suggest the time might be right for him to move on. They questioned the sale of players like Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis at the end of a season that had seen neighbouring Blackburn win the title.

Ferguson responded first by blasting the newspaper, then introducing the 'kids' who carried United to their second domestic Double in three seasons.

In 1998 Arsenal matched United's achievements, and to their dismay then inspired Ferguson to lead his side to a remarkable Treble the following season.

There is nothing quite like a closely-fought Premiership title race for exposing naked emotion, and nothing quite like a trophyless season for reigniting Fergie's ambition.

The season surely belongs to Arsenal. If they do not clinch the title at Old Trafford, they are unlikely to fail when they meet Everton at Highbury this weekend.

But Wenger should fear the consequences, and not just when his side meet United tonight. The new season will be here soon enough, bringing with it a United side bolstered by the arrival of some expensive summer signings.

Probable teams:

Manchester United (4-4-2): Barthez; Brown, Blanc, Johnsen, Silvestre; Veron, Butt, Keane, Scholes; Giggs, Van Nistelrooy

Arsenal (4-4-2): Seaman; Lauren, Campbell, Adams (no, injured), Cole; Parlour, Vieira, Edu, Ljungberg; Wiltord, Bergkamp

Referee: Paul Durkin.
Wednesday, May 8, 2002
Juan-nil to the Arsenal
By Charlie Whelan

Sir Alex Ferguson must have told football reporters to 'fuck off' thousands of times. Suddenly, a new outburst is deemed worthy of the full Back Page treatment from all the papers. It is easy to see why.

 

Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson: In a rage
(LaurenceGriffiths/Allsport)
Ferguson has not only slipped up in the Premiership but has also come out a loser in his psychological war with Arsene Wenger, too.

All season the Manchester United manager has been complaining about Arsenal, trying to wind them up as he did so famously with Newcastle and Kevin Keegan. But Wenger is no Keegan.

The Frenchman showed it again this week when he responded to Ferguson's claim that Manchester United had played the better football this year.

'Everyone thinks he has the prettiest wife at home,' Wenger retorted.

Many people had sympathy for Keegan when he cracked but this time it is Ferguson who has lost the plot and he will get no sympathy. He can dish it out but he can't take it.

Two things have contributed to the Ferguson explosion - Arsenal and Juan Sebastian Veron. The Gunners, who deservedly won the FA Cup on Saturday, have simply failed to wilt under pressure and now look odds on to win the Double.

To compound United's misery, they have failed to reach the Champions League Final and so will end the season without a trophy, largely because of a £28million Argentine misfit.

While the press have been unanimous in criticising Veron, Ferguson finds it difficult to admit mistakes and accept that his expensive signing hasn't played well for most of the season and particularly in Europe.

My guess is that Veron is holding himself back for the World Cup and another big pay-off when Fergie is forced to flog him.

According to the Manchester United manager, anyone who doesn't agree with his assessment of Veron is a 'fucking idiot'. By my reckoning that means 67,000 fucking idiots go to Old Trafford every week because the fans have been as critical as the media.

There will be many people, especially in the media, who will be delighted that Ferguson has cracked under the pressure. For years he has been a big bully of the Press and, shamefully, sometimes he has got his way.

Match of the Day once declined to show viewers exactly what Fergie is like after he exploded during an interview. They didn't want to upset him because if they did the programme may never have got another interview.

Ferguson boycotted Radio 5 Live once because my colleague, Alan Green, had upset him. If everyone Green upset refused to appear on Five Live, the radio station would close down.

A PR company would not have come up with a storyline as good as the real one if it had been asked to sell tonight's big game at Old Trafford.

After successfully tipping Arsenal to win the FA Cup I was going to back Manchester United to win tonight but now I'm not so sure. Arsenal will be under no pressure to take any points whereas United, thanks to Fergie, have all the pressure on them.

Perhaps Ferguson made a mistake in not retiring. He has certainly done Manchester United no favours this week.

Why Bowyer is best forgotten

Lee Bowyer says he is mystified as to why he has not been involved in the England set-up. I don't know what planet he's been on for the past few years, or maybe he's had an attack of amnesia.

How else could you explain the following statement from Bowyer? 'I'm not being picked, and I don't know why. It's weird because people tell me that the England manager likes the way I play. It seems there is more to it than anybody knows.'

Yes there is more to it, but everyone except Bowyer knows exactly why he won't be going to Japan. There was a little matter of a high-profile court case with fellow team-mates after an alleged attack on an Asian youth.

Oh yes, there is also just another little matter of another attack on an Asian youth in a McDonald's restaurant also involving a certain Lee Bowyer. Even if David Beckham broke both his legs there are 10 other midfielders Sven-Goran Eriksson would rather take to the World Cup.

And there is one name I am particularly looking for in the England squad tomorrow: Joe Cole. He is the one player who can provide that bit of magic to win games.

In the World Cup, it is that something special that separates the good teams from the ordinary. In Italia 90, we had Gazza and it was his brilliance that helped us all the way to the semi-finals.

When Eriksson was given the job as England coach he was told the aim was to win a major competition by 2006. In order to do this the squad must have plenty of young players in it. Joe Cole is the best young talent we have so there is no excuse for not including him.