Like when he brought in Evra and Vidic, whom we didn’t know much about. Evra looked like a disaster before he turned it around.
Name the cases when Fergie proved you wrong?
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
I'll combine 2. Starting Fletcher and playing 4-3-3 in the 2004/2005 season. There was one game we lost to at home to Blackburn. The fans were chanting attack, attack, attack and 4-4-2. We had Van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Saha, Smith and Solskjaer (long term injury) on our books. To me it made no sense only playing one striker and we really struggled to score at the start of that season. I felt all Fletcher could do was run and we had far better players to take his place.
It didn't start well but it turned out to be a great move. We couldn't keep playing 4-4-2 especially in Europe and it was the foundation of the Rooney, Ronaldo eventual Saha, Tevez trio which was great. Fletcher getting that winner against Chelsea have him a bit of confidence but from 2007-2010 Fletcher was genuinely brilliant. Fantastic big match player and shows how great Fergie was for sticking with him.
It didn't start well but it turned out to be a great move. We couldn't keep playing 4-4-2 especially in Europe and it was the foundation of the Rooney, Ronaldo eventual Saha, Tevez trio which was great. Fletcher getting that winner against Chelsea have him a bit of confidence but from 2007-2010 Fletcher was genuinely brilliant. Fantastic big match player and shows how great Fergie was for sticking with him.
The entire Fergies' Fledglings gamble.
It's hard to say since he already had an infinite amount of my trust by default. Even with players like Bebe or Büttner (or Moyes, his last big mistake) you thought that Fergie probably knew something that you didn't and let it slide.
Maybe letting Beckham & Ruud go? Especially the latter.
Maybe letting Beckham & Ruud go? Especially the latter.
The time he played a team of defenders against Arsenal at OT
every season after around time Ronaldo left, where everyone and their dog were convinced we need a midfield signing, and he kept winning with Giggs in midfield.
Paul Pogba
during my gap year i decided to tour south east asia. it coincided with united’s pre-season tour to that part of the world. i tried to get a ticket for a game against barcelona, as that coincided perfectly with my travel itinerary. to my dismay, they were all sold out, but i decided that wouldn’t get me down. i’ll still head to the city and the stadium and try to soak up some of that famous away day vibe.
the city was a little flat and i was a little despondent, the truth is i was a little homesick and needed a little bit of home’s creature comforts and united should have been just the ticket. the atmosphere around the stadium was non-existent and none of the locals joined in with any of my tragedy chanting. i don’t even remember how the game finished, or which new stars i should have been looking forward to glimpsing
in a united shirt for the first time.
at full time i decided that was enough united for the day and i headed into the centre to drown my sorrows. many pints later i decided it was time to visit one of the city’s more nefarious areas to relieve some of my stress. there was all kinds of commotion coming from inside whilst i waited. it felt like hours passed before the door flung open and a flustered man departed, forcing his shirt back into his chino shorts with every stride. he looked down at me, pathetically waiting in my united shirt, leaned across and in a glaswegian brogue, softly said “careful, son, all that glitters ain’t gash.” and then disappeared off into the night. i was in too deep by then and brushed off his comments, but he was right.
the city was a little flat and i was a little despondent, the truth is i was a little homesick and needed a little bit of home’s creature comforts and united should have been just the ticket. the atmosphere around the stadium was non-existent and none of the locals joined in with any of my tragedy chanting. i don’t even remember how the game finished, or which new stars i should have been looking forward to glimpsing
in a united shirt for the first time.
at full time i decided that was enough united for the day and i headed into the centre to drown my sorrows. many pints later i decided it was time to visit one of the city’s more nefarious areas to relieve some of my stress. there was all kinds of commotion coming from inside whilst i waited. it felt like hours passed before the door flung open and a flustered man departed, forcing his shirt back into his chino shorts with every stride. he looked down at me, pathetically waiting in my united shirt, leaned across and in a glaswegian brogue, softly said “careful, son, all that glitters ain’t gash.” and then disappeared off into the night. i was in too deep by then and brushed off his comments, but he was right.
I though Fergie would have a clear idea on who to pick as his successor. He proved me wrong there.
Ditching Ruud for Saha and putting all his faith in Ronaldo/Rooney. These lads were only 20 at the time.
Seems obvious now but I remember that league cup final against Wigan when he started Saha ahead of ruud and the football we played was superb. It was in some way Fergies fledglings 2.
Ruud was the best out and out striker Ferguson had at United ever in my view so that was a huge gamble. Be like selling shearer at his peak for a 20 year old.
Seems obvious now but I remember that league cup final against Wigan when he started Saha ahead of ruud and the football we played was superb. It was in some way Fergies fledglings 2.
Ruud was the best out and out striker Ferguson had at United ever in my view so that was a huge gamble. Be like selling shearer at his peak for a 20 year old.
Yup.
I also remember losing my mind when we let some Serbian wonder kid slip through our fingers. The fact I can't even remember his name now really just confirms how wrong I was.
EDIT: Ljajic?
There's nothing better than chanting 'YSB' at local Thai tuk tuk drivers in a remote beach location.
Yup this one. I really could not understand why he let him go. Then he came back and it all became crystal clear.
Signing Cantona.
I remember talking to mates at the time and I just couldn't see the sense in it, ie he's not the sort of player we need, he won't get enough goals, he's temperamental.
I remember talking to mates at the time and I just couldn't see the sense in it, ie he's not the sort of player we need, he won't get enough goals, he's temperamental.
He didn't let him go. We offered him a good deal, sent players to convince him. Pogba decided to leave.
Fergie wanted Pogba to stay. So he hardly proved everyone wrong on that score.
Hard to say. I trusted pretty much every decision he made.
All around the same time he:
sold Ince then Sold hughes.
and then finally selling Kanchelskis. All i think in the summer of 95.
These guys were some of my favourite United players and all key players for us. I think we'd just lost the league to blackburn and thought he'd gone mad with these transfers.
We then bought absolutely no one to replace them. However, a young Butt and Scholes followed by Beckham were brought in to the first team.
sold Ince then Sold hughes.
and then finally selling Kanchelskis. All i think in the summer of 95.
These guys were some of my favourite United players and all key players for us. I think we'd just lost the league to blackburn and thought he'd gone mad with these transfers.
We then bought absolutely no one to replace them. However, a young Butt and Scholes followed by Beckham were brought in to the first team.
I do think signing a top quality midfielder would have helped us a bit more in Europe and possibly would have won another league title especially the 11/12 season which it was becoming a glaring issue. Like I’ll never understand why Ferguson never went to try and sign Modric when he was at Spurs unless dealing with Levy for Berbatov was really that bad.
That's exactly why we didn't bother. We wanted Modric but we didn't want to deal with Levy again.
The midfielder we wanted after Modric was Thiago who United scouted for about two years with Martin Ferguson attending Barca matches in person to watch him. Fergie got the deal done going into the 2013 summer as a welcoming present for the next manager, all that was needed was for Moyes to sign off on it but he turned him down.
Many people didn't want the RVP signing.
£24m to win the league!
£24m to win the league!
I started supporting United aged 10 in 94. Can't say I've ever doubted the man. That's how great he was throughout the years.
I even got on the Moyes train. That was the only time I was let down by a Fergie decision. To be fair, Fergie also told Moyes not to sack off all the coaches he left for the latter, which Moyes ignored.
I even got on the Moyes train. That was the only time I was let down by a Fergie decision. To be fair, Fergie also told Moyes not to sack off all the coaches he left for the latter, which Moyes ignored.
We were watching The Crying Game and he knew. He just knew.
I really had forgotten all about the Thiago transfer saga and how Moyes just scrapped it but then decided on chasing Fabregas after Barcelona just sold Thiago.
Not exactly an individual case but often in big games he would set up an almost irregular formation that emphasised the individual roles of players such as Park Ji Sung, Fletcher, and others of their calibre. On paper it wouldn't seem so threatening, then the game would play out and it'd prove to be a blinder of a move.
I thought Carrick was ridiculously overpriced at the time we bought him, and wasn't too convinced he was what we needed, but what terrific value we got in the end.
Wanted to keep him though?
Selling Paul Ince for me. Was gutted at the time.
And sticking with Fletcher, thought he was terrible.
Darren Fletcher is the main one I remember. I thought he sucked for his first 2-3 seasons and then I rated him from 06/07 and then on. It felt justified to hate on him when Keane did that infamous MUTV interview when he singled him out too.
Ince, Hughes and Kanchelskis (maybe a different summer) in the same summer from recollection. The whole fan base thought he'd gone insane.
He wanted nothing to do with the Pogba/Raiola circus.
Butt, Scholes and Beckham were already part of the first team.
It's one of those cases where the results enhanced the legend. Fergie wanted to sell Ince. He did not want to sell Hughes, but his contract was up. He did not want to sell Kanchelskis, but he wanted to go and his agent was a nightmare. And he did want to sign at least a winger that summer but couldn't get Anderon....
When she left black eyed peas to become a good mom. Not a lot of famous singers can do that.
Fletcher. He was awful in his first couple seasons. I couldn't understand why Sir Alex kept playing him. Then he became a beast and I realised why we were persistent with him.
Dismantling the drinking culture in the late 80s. Then the ego culture for the next 20 years. McGrath, Whiteside, Keane, Beckham, Ruud - every transfer/expulsion seemed like a mistake, but ultimately wasn't (apart from Stam)
I thought he ought to have brought a proper striker instead of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
He could see Pogba coming from a mile away. I’d have loved to have seen his reaction when we agreed to sign him for 80m I bet he was fuming.
He could have handled Pogba better., Raiola or not. Pogba obviously had faults but a couple of seasons playing in the 1st team under SAF could have instilled a bit more discipline rather than needing to be bailed out by having exceptional DMs around him in order to shine (and being 20% less egotistical). We would have been slightly less dysfunctional with a young but developed Pogba in the team 2013-15, alongside a new defensive midfielder. SAF should have agreed with PP and his team to give him opportunities off the bench or when we had injury issues for 3 months, after which the contract situation (his demands, what the club would offer) would be reviewed and he'd either be sold or sign a contract. SAF had enough experience being a disciplinarian but also subtle man=manager that he could have pulled it off, and saved the club money and hassle...
There were other issues in terms of that midfield at the time (he should have gone for Dembele when he was leaving Fulham if money was tight), part of which was also down to his being too accommodating of the Glazer line. By 2011, SAF had the contacts in the footballing world to solicit then essentially bring the Glazers a Red Knights-style consortia offer and tell them that if they weren't prepared to invest in reshaping the team due to the debt, then they needed to sell because the club would be left behind, and hold his potential resignation up as a means of leverage.
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Funny how the fact that Fergie wanted to keep Pogba is totally glossed over because it doesnt suit the opinion of some posters 
Fergie knew it al along, Fergie didnt want Pogba, Fergie wanted nothing to do with the Pogba circus while in reality Fergie offered Pogba a contract to stay
Fergie knew it al along, Fergie didnt want Pogba, Fergie wanted nothing to do with the Pogba circus while in reality Fergie offered Pogba a contract to stay
The reason he left is because SAF didn't play him in the first team enough because he wouldn't work hard enough in training or as part of the team on matchday, so his return kinda does bear out that he wasn't the right fit for the PL (despite his clear natural ability).
1995, selling Ince and Kanchelskis (and Hughes, although he was getting on by then). You’d waited years to see United win the league (and then the double) and suddenly the team was broken up.