Denis Campbell
Sunday February 10, 2002
The Observer
"Big news yes, but a big surprise? When Alex Ferguson decided last week to extend his stay as Manchester United manager, it was confirmation of rumours that have been circulating within football since December. The evidence has been steadily accumulating that the most successful manager in British football history was having second thoughts about retiring this May. Shaking hands as a 'roving international ambassador' for United was always going to come a poor second to the pressures and pleasures of getting the best out of those in red shirts.
'He realised the rest of his life would be a long time and could wait,' says a close friend of Ferguson. 'He didn't feel any differently just because he'd turned 60 on New Year's Eve. Sixty was just a number and he still had a big appetite for the job. He thought he'd maybe been a bit hasty deciding to retire this summer in the first place.'
In mid-November Ferguson went back on to the training-pitch to see what he could do to improve United's fortunes. In a dire start to the season they lost seven games. Coach Steve McClaren's departure for Middlesbrough, and stand-in Jim Ryan's failure to prove as inspirational, forced Ferguson back to a tracksuited coaching role. He soon found himself enjoying it.
Then Ferguson began trying to bring some new players to Old Trafford, suggesting he was planning ahead, not quietly seeing out his final year in charge. He succeeded with Diego Forlan, the Uruguayan striker, and failed to land both Barcelona defender Michael Reiziger and West Ham's Paolo Di Canio. But perhaps the clearest sign of a change of heart came with the jig of joy on the Villa Park turf at his team's remarkable 3-2 victory in the third round of the FA Cup on the first Sun day of the New Year. The lack of desire that Ferguson had complained about after United's uncharacteristically spineless recent defeats by Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea seemed to have disappeared.
But what really clinched it was Ferguson's relish for the challenge of building yet another new United team, a side that can be serious contenders for the Champions League rather than quarter-final losers yet again. Although the identity of United's manager is not changing, there will be significant changes to his team before next season as he sets off in pursuit of that goal.
'He will up the ante, he will build another team, just as he's done throughout his tenure,' says a source close to Ferguson. 'He's had quite big clearouts before and he will do it again this summer.'
In his time at Old Trafford, Ferguson has presided over the departure of players thought to be indispensable: Mark Hughes, Paul Ince, Bryan Robson, Andrei Kanchelskis, Gary Pallister, Steve Bruce and even Eric Cantona among them.
Ferguson sees defence as his team's main, arguably only, weakness. Last summer he tried but failed to recruit both Lilian Thuram and Bixente Lizarazu to shore up a back line that had leaked crucial goals against Bayern Munich in the last eight of the European Cup, as it had the year before against Real Madrid. This summer, two or three new defenders will arrive.
By next August, United's back four will be very different to the quartet - Mikael Silvestre, Laurent Blanc, Gary Neville and his brother Phil - currently standing guard. The right-back berth may well be occupied by Steve Finnan, the 25-year-old Fulham defender who, after a career in the lower leagues, has recently emerged as a star performer for both his club and the Republic of Ireland (11 caps, one goal). Ferguson is a huge admirer, and sees Finnan's speed and crossing ability as complementing United's style of play. The Limerick-born player is on record as viewing his suitor as 'the greatest manager of all time'.
In central defence, John O'Shea, another young Irishman, is likely to figure regularly next season. Still just 20 and already dubbed 'the new Paul McGrath', O'Shea made his debut in the 1-0 home defeat by West Ham in early December and retained his place for the business-as-usual 5-0 thumping of Derby four days later. His manager admires the youngster's speed, composure and passing ability, and believes he will be ready for a starting place at Old Trafford next season.
However, the player alongside him is unlikely to be Blanc, who retires this summer, or injury-prone Ronnie Johnsen or Wes Brown. Ferguson once lauded Brown as 'the best young central defender in the country'. But injury, some early-season blunders and an apparent loss of confidence have left his career prospects at Old Trafford in the balance.
It is more likely that PSV Eindhoven's Kevin Hofland, a long-time United target, will arrive at Old Trafford. Again, Ferguson is a big fan. 'He's quick, mobile, has already played in the Champions League and has had good reports about United from Van Nistelrooy,' says a United insider. Valencia's unsettled Argentine Roberto Ayala is another possibility.
In midfield, the only certainty is that Juan Sebastian Veron will leave at the end of the season. It's felt within the club that he hasn't worked, doesn't suit the way United play and slows them down by needing too much time on the ball. United expect to recoup the record fee of £28.1million they paid for him.
Ferguson sees Newcastle's Kieron Dyer as a potential replacement who would fit United's pass-and-move game. But they will only bid for him if David Beckham is no longer around and, after months of protracted negotiations over the England captain's new £100,000-a-week contract, that now seems unlikely. Dyer's poor injury record and involvement in various off-field antics also worry Ferguson.
Most intriguing of all is the possibility of a serious attempt to lure Patrick Vieira to Manchester, using the Veron money to finance the move. Everyone in football knows that the Frenchman, who is learning to speak Spanish, will leave Highbury for a bigger club, and until now Real Madrid and Barcelona have been favourites to sign him. The Highbury board would rather Vieira went abroad than joined their main rivals. But if Vieira would move north, Ferguson would move heaven and earth to acquire him.
Up front, Dwight Yorke will be on his way, but there are as yet few clues about the identity of the new fourth striker. It will not be Di Canio, who Ferguson always saw as a useful stopgap for the rest of this campaign, but nothing more. But Fiorentina's Nuno Gomes is looking for a new club and last week United were linked with Europe's most-wanted striker, Auxerre's Djbril Cisse.
Adding these players, or others of similar talent, to the best of what he already has in pursuit of a true superteam is Sir Alex's long-term plan. In the short term, he is more interested in winning an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premiership title than a second European Cup, or so his closest associates insist. His motivation? Making the legion of critics - who pre-Christmas wrote off United's title chances and derided a manager they said had 'lost the plot' - eat their words. In truth, his priorities may be nothing more than a recognition that, as one friend admits: 'Deep down, Alex knows United probably won't win the Champions League this year, not with this defence. But next year, with a different team, is another opportunity.' And the venue for the 2003 European Cup final just happens to be Old Trafford.
There is also the key question of bringing in a new number two. Ferguson believes that none of those already on the coaching staff - Mike Phelan, Brian McClair or Jim Ryan - is the right man. And, although widely tipped by the media, Preston's David Moyes is not in the manager's thinking. 'It has to be someone the players will respect, not an unknown or inexperienced coach,' says a Ferguson confidant. 'Alex McLeish would have been perfect if he'd still been at Hibs and been prepared to come, but there's no chance now he's at Rangers.'
Ideally, Ferguson would love to turn back the clock yet again by reappointing McClaren - if he would come. 'The players know, like and respect him, especially the England players he'll be working with this summer. He and Alex remain close, and Steve retains a lot of affection for the club and the players,' explains a United insider. The key question is: is McClaren ready to give up being a boss in his own right to return to United as number two? If he is, then the A-team could be reunited soon after the World Cup.
Confirmation of Sir Alex's prolonged stay at United prompted stories last week that it meant the end of the plans his mega-wealthy Irish racing tycoon friends, John Magnier and JP McManus, have for trying to gain control at Old Trafford. That is incorrect. They still intend to make their move when they decide conditions are most favourable. United's stubbornly low share price, rather than the occupant of their dugout, is the key factor.
Before Christmas, the Old Trafford empire seemed to be crumbling. There was humiliation on the pitch, a predatory bid by Magnier and McManus in the offing, and United's most successful manager about to hang up his tracksuit. Now, the future looks rather like the present, which should terrify United's would-be rivals in the Premiership. "
Sunday February 10, 2002
The Observer
"Big news yes, but a big surprise? When Alex Ferguson decided last week to extend his stay as Manchester United manager, it was confirmation of rumours that have been circulating within football since December. The evidence has been steadily accumulating that the most successful manager in British football history was having second thoughts about retiring this May. Shaking hands as a 'roving international ambassador' for United was always going to come a poor second to the pressures and pleasures of getting the best out of those in red shirts.
'He realised the rest of his life would be a long time and could wait,' says a close friend of Ferguson. 'He didn't feel any differently just because he'd turned 60 on New Year's Eve. Sixty was just a number and he still had a big appetite for the job. He thought he'd maybe been a bit hasty deciding to retire this summer in the first place.'
In mid-November Ferguson went back on to the training-pitch to see what he could do to improve United's fortunes. In a dire start to the season they lost seven games. Coach Steve McClaren's departure for Middlesbrough, and stand-in Jim Ryan's failure to prove as inspirational, forced Ferguson back to a tracksuited coaching role. He soon found himself enjoying it.
Then Ferguson began trying to bring some new players to Old Trafford, suggesting he was planning ahead, not quietly seeing out his final year in charge. He succeeded with Diego Forlan, the Uruguayan striker, and failed to land both Barcelona defender Michael Reiziger and West Ham's Paolo Di Canio. But perhaps the clearest sign of a change of heart came with the jig of joy on the Villa Park turf at his team's remarkable 3-2 victory in the third round of the FA Cup on the first Sun day of the New Year. The lack of desire that Ferguson had complained about after United's uncharacteristically spineless recent defeats by Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea seemed to have disappeared.
But what really clinched it was Ferguson's relish for the challenge of building yet another new United team, a side that can be serious contenders for the Champions League rather than quarter-final losers yet again. Although the identity of United's manager is not changing, there will be significant changes to his team before next season as he sets off in pursuit of that goal.
'He will up the ante, he will build another team, just as he's done throughout his tenure,' says a source close to Ferguson. 'He's had quite big clearouts before and he will do it again this summer.'
In his time at Old Trafford, Ferguson has presided over the departure of players thought to be indispensable: Mark Hughes, Paul Ince, Bryan Robson, Andrei Kanchelskis, Gary Pallister, Steve Bruce and even Eric Cantona among them.
Ferguson sees defence as his team's main, arguably only, weakness. Last summer he tried but failed to recruit both Lilian Thuram and Bixente Lizarazu to shore up a back line that had leaked crucial goals against Bayern Munich in the last eight of the European Cup, as it had the year before against Real Madrid. This summer, two or three new defenders will arrive.
By next August, United's back four will be very different to the quartet - Mikael Silvestre, Laurent Blanc, Gary Neville and his brother Phil - currently standing guard. The right-back berth may well be occupied by Steve Finnan, the 25-year-old Fulham defender who, after a career in the lower leagues, has recently emerged as a star performer for both his club and the Republic of Ireland (11 caps, one goal). Ferguson is a huge admirer, and sees Finnan's speed and crossing ability as complementing United's style of play. The Limerick-born player is on record as viewing his suitor as 'the greatest manager of all time'.
In central defence, John O'Shea, another young Irishman, is likely to figure regularly next season. Still just 20 and already dubbed 'the new Paul McGrath', O'Shea made his debut in the 1-0 home defeat by West Ham in early December and retained his place for the business-as-usual 5-0 thumping of Derby four days later. His manager admires the youngster's speed, composure and passing ability, and believes he will be ready for a starting place at Old Trafford next season.
However, the player alongside him is unlikely to be Blanc, who retires this summer, or injury-prone Ronnie Johnsen or Wes Brown. Ferguson once lauded Brown as 'the best young central defender in the country'. But injury, some early-season blunders and an apparent loss of confidence have left his career prospects at Old Trafford in the balance.
It is more likely that PSV Eindhoven's Kevin Hofland, a long-time United target, will arrive at Old Trafford. Again, Ferguson is a big fan. 'He's quick, mobile, has already played in the Champions League and has had good reports about United from Van Nistelrooy,' says a United insider. Valencia's unsettled Argentine Roberto Ayala is another possibility.
In midfield, the only certainty is that Juan Sebastian Veron will leave at the end of the season. It's felt within the club that he hasn't worked, doesn't suit the way United play and slows them down by needing too much time on the ball. United expect to recoup the record fee of £28.1million they paid for him.
Ferguson sees Newcastle's Kieron Dyer as a potential replacement who would fit United's pass-and-move game. But they will only bid for him if David Beckham is no longer around and, after months of protracted negotiations over the England captain's new £100,000-a-week contract, that now seems unlikely. Dyer's poor injury record and involvement in various off-field antics also worry Ferguson.
Most intriguing of all is the possibility of a serious attempt to lure Patrick Vieira to Manchester, using the Veron money to finance the move. Everyone in football knows that the Frenchman, who is learning to speak Spanish, will leave Highbury for a bigger club, and until now Real Madrid and Barcelona have been favourites to sign him. The Highbury board would rather Vieira went abroad than joined their main rivals. But if Vieira would move north, Ferguson would move heaven and earth to acquire him.
Up front, Dwight Yorke will be on his way, but there are as yet few clues about the identity of the new fourth striker. It will not be Di Canio, who Ferguson always saw as a useful stopgap for the rest of this campaign, but nothing more. But Fiorentina's Nuno Gomes is looking for a new club and last week United were linked with Europe's most-wanted striker, Auxerre's Djbril Cisse.
Adding these players, or others of similar talent, to the best of what he already has in pursuit of a true superteam is Sir Alex's long-term plan. In the short term, he is more interested in winning an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premiership title than a second European Cup, or so his closest associates insist. His motivation? Making the legion of critics - who pre-Christmas wrote off United's title chances and derided a manager they said had 'lost the plot' - eat their words. In truth, his priorities may be nothing more than a recognition that, as one friend admits: 'Deep down, Alex knows United probably won't win the Champions League this year, not with this defence. But next year, with a different team, is another opportunity.' And the venue for the 2003 European Cup final just happens to be Old Trafford.
There is also the key question of bringing in a new number two. Ferguson believes that none of those already on the coaching staff - Mike Phelan, Brian McClair or Jim Ryan - is the right man. And, although widely tipped by the media, Preston's David Moyes is not in the manager's thinking. 'It has to be someone the players will respect, not an unknown or inexperienced coach,' says a Ferguson confidant. 'Alex McLeish would have been perfect if he'd still been at Hibs and been prepared to come, but there's no chance now he's at Rangers.'
Ideally, Ferguson would love to turn back the clock yet again by reappointing McClaren - if he would come. 'The players know, like and respect him, especially the England players he'll be working with this summer. He and Alex remain close, and Steve retains a lot of affection for the club and the players,' explains a United insider. The key question is: is McClaren ready to give up being a boss in his own right to return to United as number two? If he is, then the A-team could be reunited soon after the World Cup.
Confirmation of Sir Alex's prolonged stay at United prompted stories last week that it meant the end of the plans his mega-wealthy Irish racing tycoon friends, John Magnier and JP McManus, have for trying to gain control at Old Trafford. That is incorrect. They still intend to make their move when they decide conditions are most favourable. United's stubbornly low share price, rather than the occupant of their dugout, is the key factor.
Before Christmas, the Old Trafford empire seemed to be crumbling. There was humiliation on the pitch, a predatory bid by Magnier and McManus in the offing, and United's most successful manager about to hang up his tracksuit. Now, the future looks rather like the present, which should terrify United's would-be rivals in the Premiership. "
