New Stam interview on leaving Utd.
https://sky.shorthandstories.com/JaapStam/index.html
https://sky.shorthandstories.com/JaapStam/index.html
Jaap Stam Interview
- Thread starter royboy16
- Start date
Wasn't the book, club needed the money.
Nice of Sky to dress it all up.
Still <3 Stam.
Nice of Sky to dress it all up.
Still <3 Stam.
Stam + Ferdinand for 2-3 seasons and we would have won another Champions League 
One of Fergies big mistakes. Everyone understands it, so it's kind of old news now. Everyone moved on from it.
He wouldn’t have been the one sold if the book had never been released though.
Whatever it was, it was a mistake. He was the best defender i've seen play for us. Rio and Vidic in one package.
The book obviously was the reason. Wasn’t there remarks made about Neville brothers and someone else in the book? It wasn’t just the tapping up part.
Fergie made a mistake. But Stam also made one. Why release a book when you are playing? Did he really need the money or something?
Fergie made a mistake. But Stam also made one. Why release a book when you are playing? Did he really need the money or something?
Fergie trying to cover it up by using Stam's age as an excuse and then replacing him with a 35 year old Laurent Blanc will always amuse me.
Wasn't just his decision to publish the book, they signed an agreement with the Daily Mirror to promote it. All the mirror did was take bits out of context and use them as headlines for the rest of the week. FERGIE TAPS UP STAM. GARY NEVILLE CAN'T GROW A BEARD. PHIL NEVILLE DYES HIS HAIR AND LISTENS TO THE PET SHOP BOYS.
Add to this the operation that Stam had just had, and not being able to lay a glove on Michael Owen in the recent meeting with Liverpool. I think Fergie thought he was on the downturn. There was also the element of getting a decent offer as well, but you could say that all of these factors made his mind up. I remember being astounded at the time.
Add to this the operation that Stam had just had, and not being able to lay a glove on Michael Owen in the recent meeting with Liverpool. I think Fergie thought he was on the downturn. There was also the element of getting a decent offer as well, but you could say that all of these factors made his mind up. I remember being astounded at the time.
Stam + Ferdinand for 2-3 seasons and we would have won another Champions League
I think I’m gonna disagree. By the time Rio had become the Rio we love and remember (06 onwards) Stam was on the downturn. He spent his first few years with us getting criticised by Keane on MUTV, having hideous lapses of concentration, and being generally quite poor for someone of his talent.
That’s because Rio lacked a stable partner. He had Silverstre who was a left back. Blanc wasn’t very good. Brown was always injured and prone to making errors himself.
Rio always struggled without Vidic. That’s why I always find it strange when people say he is miles ahead of Vidic. When Vidic probably had his best season without Rio. The gap wasn’t as big as people say it is and I would give it to Vidic because of that 2009 season.
I think this sums it up really.
That’s a genuinely good argument, my only counter point would be, Rio’s struggles were mental in his early years. I feel a lot of his errors were down to lack of concentration on his part, which can’t be blamed on lack of solid partner
Love to see Jaap come back to Ajax as a manager at some point. He's quite an interesting one. On one hand, he's still the destroyer, now turned general (love the story from Reading players how he'd join them at training and kick the hell out of them to teach them what it takes, while still being the best on the pitch), on the other, he wants to play technically and tactically sophisticated and positive football. His manager education was a bit suspect though. But still, if he can play the Ajax way and manages to drill the absolute will to win into the players, it could be a golden combination.
If you read the book there’s no way anyone could be offended by it. It’s basically a big love note to life at Man United. Sad really given he was gone two minutes later.
Yeah I remember reading that book and being somewhat amused by what was made of it in the English press. It was a very positive book. Nothing new there though, they do that until this day. Those headlines and stories are clicks and income. Fergie knows how it works, making a mistake and getting rid of Stam for funds is one thing, but to use his book to sell it to the fans was evil.
From what I remember Stam was very inconsistent at the time (maybe a phase he was going through with his injuries). It wasn't the Stam of the treble year that was sold.
It's probably like Utd selling Matic this January and then him having a couple of good seasons at AC Milan. Would be a little shock, but not a disaster.
It's probably like Utd selling Matic this January and then him having a couple of good seasons at AC Milan. Would be a little shock, but not a disaster.
Omg SAF was undermined by the higher ups. Who wouldn't want the glazers and woodward out at this point? I also wonder how SAF could possibly accept the decision of his bosses and got on with it. I thought the wisest decision would have been to blame everything bad game on the board and the shit players he had to work with in defense. That's what truly special ones would do
Like @Bojan11 has said Rio "lacked a stable partner"......of course Stam's best season with us was by far the 1998-1999 season and every player will lose something after an achilles injury....but i still think a Stam+Ferdinand CB partnership for a couple of seasons would have given us more success.
Stam was still one of the best CBs in the world. In fact he went on to become one of the best CBs in the Serie A at a time it was around par to the EPL. The problem in our defence was that quality was being replaced with less quality. Schmeichel left and was replaced with a series of shit goalkeepers. Irwin was growing old and was replaced by Mickey who was nowhere near to the Irishman, Johnsen (whom in my opinion was the 4th best CB SAF had ever had) had become injury prone while Keane was starting to show first signs of wear and tear. Tbf there was some promising talent coming through especially Wes. However a series of injuries hit him which would go on plaguing the rest of his career.
Stam was what kept the defence afloat and when he was sold the defence went in tilt. An aged Blanc, a young Wes and Silvestre were in no position to replace Stam. It would take us years to rebuild the defence. Rio was the first quality signing we made and was followed by Heinze and VDS. Vidic and Evra were the last prestigious pieces of a defence which would play a key role in us winning the 3rd CL.
For years I used to list Stam's departure as SAF's biggest mistake. SAF himself listed it as so. I am glad that Jaap had cleared this stain on the old man. He took the heat for a mistake the board had made and got on with his job. That's what a true special one would do.
I liked him when he was here and was annoyed when we sold him, but that whole nandrolone thing a couple of months after he left gave me some doubts.
I was young at the time, but I remember the mistakse he made more than I remember his qualities, I was happy when he left
Ahh there it is again, every time Stam is talked about.
Blanc was NOT Stams replacement. Fergie said deal was in place, he wanted both to play together. Ferdinand was identified and purchased as stams replacement
People mention the book. Or drugs. Or whatever.
Fergie sold players who were clearly not past their sell-by-date when he felt he couldn't control them anymore. See Ince, Stam, Beckham, Keane, Van Nistelrooy etc etc.
With Stam Fergie would have gotten his Champions League final in Hampden against the white kit of Real Madrid. That must be a MASSIVE regret.
Fergie sold players who were clearly not past their sell-by-date when he felt he couldn't control them anymore. See Ince, Stam, Beckham, Keane, Van Nistelrooy etc etc.
With Stam Fergie would have gotten his Champions League final in Hampden against the white kit of Real Madrid. That must be a MASSIVE regret.
I was under the impression Stam said in his book that Beckham was a bit thick or something. We'll never really know but I always wonder whether Sir Alex also regrets it because he'd have had enough of Beckham about 18 months later and sold him.
This.
I thought this was going to be the "real" reason. That link was a complete waste of time to read.
Maybe in future the "real" reason will come out, as he was probably our best ever centre back of his type, and we binned him off, near his prime for a 36 year old Blanc who couldn't run! One of the all time worst decisions
Yeah that was very bizarre, he said he felt Stam had lost a yard or two of pace. Don't get me wrong I liked Blanc when he was here but he was so slow.
I was attending every home game, some aways and a few aways in europe back then, My memory of Stam is that no one got passed him - and it wasnt just in the chant. He was bloody awesome. I certainly dont have a memory of him being prone to mistakes - now phil jones he is mistake prone as an example. Im sure he made odd ones, dont they all.
I Would never criticise FERGIE for any decision he took in selling players, he got rid of many class players before they were finished - who knows what went on in the dressing room and behind closed doors. All his decisions were vindicated by the trophies he won - year after year.
I Would never criticise FERGIE for any decision he took in selling players, he got rid of many class players before they were finished - who knows what went on in the dressing room and behind closed doors. All his decisions were vindicated by the trophies he won - year after year.
Hyperbolic much.
They dont produce players like him anymore. If you shook hands before the game, you shat in your pants by looking at him. Absolute beast of a defender.
We made a 50% profit on a guy with little or no positional sense who was in decline. Yeah defo one of SAF's biggest mistakes
I don't think so. He was an outstanding defender, good at everything and with no weaknesses.
We made a 50% profit on a guy with little or no positional sense who was in decline. Yeah defo one of SAF's biggest mistakes
Apart from having a Sol Campbell level of positional awareness, a redundant left foot and being an average passer i'd agree.
Roll your eyes all you want, but it's true.
SAF admitted it was his biggest mistake .We made a 50% profit on a guy with little or no positional sense who was in decline. Yeah defo one of SAF's biggest mistakes
He was an absolute colossus at the back. A one man defence. He didn't really play with anyone as a partnership. He was just left exposed to defend 1v1 but nobody could get past him.
I still think one of the biggest reasons why Veron failed at United was losing Stam. The defence was so poor, Fergie had to play an extra defensive midfield player and wasn't able to play Keane and Veron in the middle.
It was an absolutely terrible decision to let him go. The defence never recovered until Vidic arrived.
I still think one of the biggest reasons why Veron failed at United was losing Stam. The defence was so poor, Fergie had to play an extra defensive midfield player and wasn't able to play Keane and Veron in the middle.
It was an absolutely terrible decision to let him go. The defence never recovered until Vidic arrived.
Apart from having a Sol Campbell level of positional awareness, a redundant left foot and being an average passer i'd agree.
God knows what you must think of all our other defenders over the years then
some people are remembering Staam a lot differently to me, I was absolutely gutted when he left
He did, but only after Stam had threatened to sue SAF and/or the Club