SIR Alex Ferguson is today at the centre of a storm after criticising Reds fans who formed rebel club FC United.
In a new book, the Old Trafford boss, already under fire from some supporters for the fact that United have been the Premiership's lowest spenders during the transfer window, has labelled the thousands of fans who broke away to form the Rebels in protest against last year's takeover by the American tycoon Malcolm Glazer as self-publicists.
And he also appears to dismiss the notion of supporters having a say in the running of a football club, as well as re-iterating his statement from last season that life at Old Trafford has improved under the new regime.
On the formation of FC United, Ferguson in `The Official Manchester United Diary of the Season,' said: "I'm sorry about that. It is a bit sad that part, but I wonder just how big a United supporter they are.
"They seem to me to be promoting or projecting themselves a wee bit rather than saying `at the end of the day the club have made a decision, we'll stick by them.' It's more about them than us."
An FC United spokesperson replied: "It's sad that Ferguson has chosen to make these comments because a war of words does no-one any good.
"When David Gill made similar comments it was easier to dismiss, but it hard to swallow when it comes from Sir Alex, who as a previous champion of supporters' rights should have a better understanding of the situation.
"The situation is that whether fans stopped going to Old Trafford on a point of principle or because they could no longer afford the prices, they did so with a heavy heart and remain Manchester United supporters. Those supporters deserve better than this."
Sir Alex also reveals in the book, written by Tom Tyrrell, that anti-Glazer supporters had phoned him at home to urge him to resign when the takeover was going through.
Ferguson says that the prospect of leaving his staff in the lurch was the principal reason he did not quit, saying of the angry fans: "They seemed to forget that I have brought at least ... well, I've brought everybody here!
"The likes of Les Kershaw has been with me 18 years, Dave Bushell, Jim Ryan, Tony Whelan, Paul McGuinness, Mike Phelan, Brian McClair, they have been here with me virtually from the beginning, or at least over 10 or 12 years and I said `What happens to my staff if I go?' I feel that I have a responsibility to them.
"Need them to stay in a job, not me. So, therefore, there was a lot of hot air and a lot of unfair criticism because nobody actually knew the people.
"I can understand people thinking they have to protect the club, and I am fully aware of that, but all these protests should have been done when they went plc.
"That was the time to protest because thereafter Manchester United was never going to be the same."
Many of the supporters at the core of the anti-Glazer struggle were those who had opposed the failed takeover by Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB in 1998.
Ferguson says that he was opposed to the Murdoch bid, but questions the fans' role in that successful fight, saying: "They (the fans) felt they were responsible for stopping the BSkyB deal, which is not true. Absolutely not.
"They may have made their voice heard but they were not responsible. It was the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) that stopped that.
"They carried on to the degree where they actually thought they should have a say in the running of the football club."
But those involved in the anti-Sky campaign point out that the MMC themselves referred to the role supporters played, helping to persuade the commission that the deal would have been against the public interest.
And Mark Longden of the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association hit back at the manager, saying:
"Fergie is turning into the Marie Antoinette of Old Trafford, because the stuff he is coming out with is tantamount to saying `Let them eat cake.'
"Everyone associated with United has taken money out of the football club. The only people who have constantly given to it are the fans, and that gives them the right to have a say as to how the club is run."
In a new book, the Old Trafford boss, already under fire from some supporters for the fact that United have been the Premiership's lowest spenders during the transfer window, has labelled the thousands of fans who broke away to form the Rebels in protest against last year's takeover by the American tycoon Malcolm Glazer as self-publicists.
And he also appears to dismiss the notion of supporters having a say in the running of a football club, as well as re-iterating his statement from last season that life at Old Trafford has improved under the new regime.
On the formation of FC United, Ferguson in `The Official Manchester United Diary of the Season,' said: "I'm sorry about that. It is a bit sad that part, but I wonder just how big a United supporter they are.
"They seem to me to be promoting or projecting themselves a wee bit rather than saying `at the end of the day the club have made a decision, we'll stick by them.' It's more about them than us."
An FC United spokesperson replied: "It's sad that Ferguson has chosen to make these comments because a war of words does no-one any good.
"When David Gill made similar comments it was easier to dismiss, but it hard to swallow when it comes from Sir Alex, who as a previous champion of supporters' rights should have a better understanding of the situation.
"The situation is that whether fans stopped going to Old Trafford on a point of principle or because they could no longer afford the prices, they did so with a heavy heart and remain Manchester United supporters. Those supporters deserve better than this."
Sir Alex also reveals in the book, written by Tom Tyrrell, that anti-Glazer supporters had phoned him at home to urge him to resign when the takeover was going through.
Ferguson says that the prospect of leaving his staff in the lurch was the principal reason he did not quit, saying of the angry fans: "They seemed to forget that I have brought at least ... well, I've brought everybody here!
"The likes of Les Kershaw has been with me 18 years, Dave Bushell, Jim Ryan, Tony Whelan, Paul McGuinness, Mike Phelan, Brian McClair, they have been here with me virtually from the beginning, or at least over 10 or 12 years and I said `What happens to my staff if I go?' I feel that I have a responsibility to them.
"Need them to stay in a job, not me. So, therefore, there was a lot of hot air and a lot of unfair criticism because nobody actually knew the people.
"I can understand people thinking they have to protect the club, and I am fully aware of that, but all these protests should have been done when they went plc.
"That was the time to protest because thereafter Manchester United was never going to be the same."
Many of the supporters at the core of the anti-Glazer struggle were those who had opposed the failed takeover by Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB in 1998.
Ferguson says that he was opposed to the Murdoch bid, but questions the fans' role in that successful fight, saying: "They (the fans) felt they were responsible for stopping the BSkyB deal, which is not true. Absolutely not.
"They may have made their voice heard but they were not responsible. It was the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) that stopped that.
"They carried on to the degree where they actually thought they should have a say in the running of the football club."
But those involved in the anti-Sky campaign point out that the MMC themselves referred to the role supporters played, helping to persuade the commission that the deal would have been against the public interest.
And Mark Longden of the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association hit back at the manager, saying:
"Fergie is turning into the Marie Antoinette of Old Trafford, because the stuff he is coming out with is tantamount to saying `Let them eat cake.'
"Everyone associated with United has taken money out of the football club. The only people who have constantly given to it are the fans, and that gives them the right to have a say as to how the club is run."
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