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Spurm said:
Maybe not 12months ago but a fair few of us predicted that Utd would drop out the top 4 when ol' bacon face announced he was off upstairs. I remember a number of discussions with our fave Utd fan with the phrase "you think the team that won the league at a canter will......" yada yada yada. Yes, i do think.
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Yeah i too remember goading the scum fans about what will happen to them when purple face fooked off, and they just laughed.

They aint laughing anymore are they .

Bless em .
 
A lot of us predicted that United wouldn't be the same team without Fergie, but very few predicted that they'd fall so far from grace.
 
Hoddle Is A God said:
A lot of us predicted that United wouldn't be the same team without Fergie, but very few predicted that they'd fall so far from grace.
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Seems ironic that for all the incredible decisions Fergie made during his tenure that led to so much success, his parting decision to insist on installing Moyes as his successor may be his biggest mistake.
 
flaspur said:
Seems ironic that for all the incredible decisions Fergie made during his tenure that led to so much success, his parting decision to insist on installing Moyes as his successor may be his biggest mistake.
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I remember Ralph Milne so you could be wrong there <laugh>
 
Twitter is going wild with rumours that Vince McMahon is trying to buy Newcastle <laugh>

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flaspur said:
Seems ironic that for all the incredible decisions Fergie made during his tenure that led to so much success, his parting decision to insist on installing Moyes as his successor may be his biggest mistake.
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All its done is enhance his reputation as a manager (if that as possible). We all know how important the "fergie factor" was, but now, its become even more apparent that Fergie himself was capable of getting a fairly average Utd squad (by their standard) over achieving and running away with the league when with any other manager in charge they would have struggled.
 
Well what was Ferguson doing?Getting his players alone one by one and threatening them with a gun?

Then again he always loaded his team with choppers...and they did chop,even Beckham!
They are down to one chopper at the moment as their league position shows.
Perhaps it was a tough Scottish background he had had that he learnt that skill cannot survive without dirty players ( to be winners) not to mention referee manipulation!
 
I think you hit the nail on the head, Smithy. In the early 70s, the all-conquering Leeds side had a team of choppers who could mix it with the best and the hardest in European football. In the late 70s, Shankley had a team of choppers who did the same and who inherited the Leeds mantle. Even Cloughie knew the importance of the "enforcer" role when he brought Dave Mackay into the side and won the league.

Fergie always played with an enforcer, plus a few across the park who were not afraid to get stuck in.

Without these kinds of players, teams are prey to the tippy-tappy football ****ery of Arsenal and Chavs, as United (under Moyes) is learning to its detriment.

'Pool haven't quite found the kinds of levels of out and out thuggery with which they muscled their way to glory in the 70s, but they have replaced it with a new kind of cheating, in the form of Sturridge and Goofy, who are overly prone to falling down, like they've been shot with a high-powered rifle, with the merest of touches.
 
bigsmithy9 said:
Well what was Ferguson doing?Getting his players alone one by one and threatening them with a gun?

Then again he always loaded his team with choppers...and they did chop,even Beckham!
They are down to one chopper at the moment as their league position shows.
Perhaps it was a tough Scottish background he had had that he learnt that skill cannot survive without dirty players ( to be winners) not to mention referee manipulation!
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Whatever made Fergie a great manager, can't be taught, just look at Hughes and Bruce! must be that scottish work ethic, yet look at Moyes? he had a stern face at Everton but at Man Utd he looks as if hes straining on the bog seat, hardly a look to strike fear into the players!

But whatever makes Fergie a great manager, intimidation, dirty tactics, combined with classic attacking football, played a huge part, but I watched a documentary "the class of 92", have a look if you haven't seen it and the youth coach mentions that two days after Fergies arrival, he was increasing the number of youth scouts as he couldn't believe how far behind they where in terms of scoring local talent and was constantly on at the youth set-up to find local lads. His passion for building a club and bringing through youth meant the likes of beckham, giggs coming through was no fluke and alot was down to his involvement.
 
Sheer effort has to count for a lot. Gridiron coaches are known for only sleeping on office beds for a couple of hours a night during the season. Of course half the problem there is just getting the right 11 on the field every play with the right idea of what they're supposed to be doing, because they change as often as not...

I think of "enforcer" as a basketball term. I've always preferred ice hockey's shorter and sweeter "goon" (except for its unfortunate associations).

A woman playing in the first Olympics where there was women's ice hockey felt deeply honored when Wayne Gretzky said, "Hey, aren't you the American goon?"
 
New signing Januzaj looks like he's wondering what he's done, as Moyes presents him with the only silverware he's likely to get at United :) ....

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Still giggle about the commonly seen joke about utd

David Moyes has promised to get Utd into Europe next season even if has to write the song himself.

Belter of a joke <laugh>
 
I thought Beckham started at Spurs as youngster in training.How did we not sign him and how did he finish up at United?
 
bigsmithy9 said:
I thought Beckham started at Spurs as youngster in training.How did we not sign him and how did he finish up at United?
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They covered part of that in that documentary, as Beckham was born in leystonstone and I think his uncle was a spurs fan and he was on trial with us, never actually signed a contract. Beckham was a big United fan and Ferguson met him when a kid, that was the difference I believe! Ferguson took an interest in youth players and Becks was looking to join Uniteds academy, and through the youth scouting, United became aware of the player.
 
United "became aware" of a lot of youngsters back then. They didn't tap any of them up though, as that would be wrong.
 
bigsmithy9 said:
I thought Beckham started at Spurs as youngster in training.How did we not sign him and how did he finish up at United?
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One day he happened to be in Manchester, and by coincidence on that day Man Utd accidentally drew up a contract with his name on it which Beckham signed, selflessly helping the club avoid the embarrassment of drawing up a contract for a trainee at another club.

Something similar happened with Man City trainee Ryan Giggs a few years before.
 
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