Jeff Winter Calls Fergie a Bully

[Pablo]

This is clearly the FA paving the way for him to be pardoned. Absolutely ridiculous! When has any other manager had their "apology" published on the FA's own website? Corrupt beyond belief and it makes my blood boil!

[PTP]

it is a disgrace! - in fact it's laughable - the whole way ferguson conducts himself and has his puppets in the LMA running around after him - i remember a while ago someone posted a list of the LMA members! - i admit i know very little about the organistation or what they do but a lot was explained when i saw the members - Capello is an honory member by default as england manager and has little to nothing to do with them! - after that, it's ferguson in charge, with the likes of moyes, allardyce, phil brown, howard wilkinson hanging of his every drunken slur.

The whole thing and they way ferguson acts reminds me very much of the golf club i was a member of as a junior - a very old school 'gentlemans club' if you like - the club was run by a selected 'council' of members, all Masons, the main man was the captain, voted in by all living past captains, who were all masons - if you were a mason you could act how you wanted, if you weren't if you stepped out of line you were banned from the golf club! In a kinda not meant to be but morbid way - that way eventually died out.

I hate to say this, but it will be the same till ferguson goes - not so much dies as that is a bit ott, but at least until he retires, he will continue to bully refs, belittle who wants, have the media running scared etc and still get away with it.

I hate saying this as i don't want to appear to biased, and at the time i wasn't so sure it was the right thing to do for football reasons - but rafa's so called rant was brilliant, it said what everyone had been thinking, it really rattled ferguson and it got the response rafa wanted - fergie threw the toys out the pram because he had no control over the situation - i am suprised he didn't try and ban the media from talking to rafa haha - since then ferguson has continued to act like a ****ing cunt - the attack on rafa he planned with allardyce was embarrassing and imo he got let off lightly by the media - he should have been ripped to pieces over it, he had a pathetic run in with mark hughes and man city over that tevez poster, he has continued to try and bully referees - and slowly one by one the media are starting to speak out

ie, i don't like the fella but piers morgan did a piece in a sunday paper really ripping into ferguson, as a few others slowly have - it's almost like since rafa stood up to the big bully and come out on top if u like, more and more are starting to say "hang on, we don't have to stand for this ****e of that cunt" - and slowly more and more are taking a stance - it's like in a playground - u have one big bully running show, someone comes in and stands up to him, then all the other kids realise they don't have to stand for it either.

I am sure that if united football wise have a bit of a slip up, say bottled the league, or missed out to something controversal, ferguson would lose the plot a bit, have a massive rant, and be hit with a huge media backlash, that he would never recover from

[JohnDoe]

I love it when Rafa calls him "Meester Ferguson"

[Shaggy]

This is clearly the FA paving the way for him to be pardoned. Absolutely ridiculous! When has any other manager had their "apology" published on the FA's own website? Corrupt beyond belief and it makes my blood boil!

Surely it was on the United website?

[wiw]

Don't know if it's been mentioned but Riley ran more than all but 4 players in the game apparently, and refs are subjected to strict fitness tests, so Riley is fit enough in the eyes of the tests

[-V-]

Wiley. Not Riley

[Shaggy]

Rafa Benitez has every reason to cry foul over FA's Manchester United favouritism By David Maddock

Published 15:05 13/10/09

(1) Recommend (5)


It is a little known fact that Charles n Eddie, that legendary duo who were widely regarded as the Lennon and McCartney of the 90s, were Crewe Alexandra fans. Now c'mon, would I lie to you baby?

Which is probably what the spokesman from the Football Association was nervously humming to himself, even as he was dialling the number for Anfield to inform Rafael Benitez that his skipper Steven Gerrard was, in fact, injured after all, and would be allowed to return to Merseyside.

You can probably guess that Rafa wasn't exactly thrilled on Monday morning when he discovered that Gerrard would be forced to stay with the England squad, despite picking up an injury that saw him limp out of the game against the Ukraine at half time.

And I'm sure you don't require a fevered imagination to realise that his mood darkened somewhat when he discovered that Wayne Rooney was allowed to leave the squad on Monday morning, despite playing the entire game in Kiev. That would be Wayne Rooney of Manchester United, by the way.

Now, I'm not one to induce paranoia, (though can anyone tell me how the internet knows your name?!), but maybe the Liverpool manager has a point when he suggests that a certain club not a million miles down the M62 seems to get preferential treatment from a certain governing body.

Benitez was up against the beak on Tuesday, answering a disciplinary charge because he happened to take off his glasses and clean then when asked about the performance of a referee. He didn't speak, mind, just cleaned his specks.

A certain rival manager, on the other hand, who operates not a million miles down the M62, has yet to be charged even after suggesting that the entire refereeing body in England is unfit to officiate matches. It is 10 days and counting without charge, by the way.

If Gerrard misses the weekend league programme, I think there might just be a certain anger down L4 way. And if Rooney happens to play this weekend, then I think the FA might just have a few more "facts" to contend with.

And when they answer, I think Mr Benitez may be entitled to quote another line from those gifted lyricists, Charles and Eddie. "Look into my eyes, can't you see they're open wide" they sang, like the sweet-voiced angels they were.

As Gerrard hobbles back to Merseyside, perhaps the FA might realise that all our eyes are open just a little bit wide at the moment, incredulous at their apparent favoritism towards a certain club at the eastern end of the M62.

[JohnDoe]

That Rafa rant is paying dividends now. I've never seen the media lay into Ferguson like they've done in the last couple of weeks.

[Shaggy]

So Fergie has done it at last.

Say "sorry", that is, after the Manchester United manager's groundbreaking decision to "apologise" to Alan Wiley for claiming that the Premier League referee was unfit.

"You see referees abroad who are as fit as a butcher's dog. He was taking 30 seconds to book a player," claimed Sir Alex, following Wiley's performance in the 2-2 draw between United and Sunderland at Old Trafford last weekend.
On Saturday, however, Ferguson climbed down. "I apologise to Mr Wiley for any personal embarrassment my remarks may have caused," he declared in a statement.

But why stop there? Fergie's mea culpa has got MirrorFootball thinking about some other incidents that the United boss should have apologised for…

1) Telling Arsene Wenger to "keep his mouth shut"

In 1997, Sir Alex attempted to get the Premier League season extended in a bid to avoid a fixture pile-up. New Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger opposed the proposal, incurring the enduring wrath of Fergie in the process. "Wenger has been in Japan, he doesn't know anything about English football," fumed Ferguson. "He's at a big club – well, Arsenal used to be big. He should keep his mouth shut, firmly shut."

2) Claiming the Leeds players were "cheating" Howard Wilkinson

During the run-in to the 1996 Premier League title race, Ferguson slated the Leeds players after his side's hard-fought 1-0 defeat of the Elland Road club, alleging they had been "cheating" their manager Howard Wilkinson by reserving all their energies for the match against United and cruising through the rest. It just so happened that Leeds' next game was against United's title rivals Newcastle… the match that sparked Kevin Keegan's infamous on-air rant.

3) Accusing Rafael Benitez of "arrogance and contempt"

Fergie claimed the Liverpool boss had gone "beyond the pale" back in April for making what Sir Alex claimed was a 'game over' signal after their second goal against Blackburn. In a gallant defence of his pal Sam Allardyce, Ferguson declared "I do not think Sam deserved that. I just thought it showed contempt." For good measure, Fergie slammed Rafa for disrepecting his other disciple David Moyes: "Everton are a big club, not a small one which Benitez arrogantly said." And let's face it, there's nothing more arrogant than branding your rivals as a "small club"…

4) Branding Manchester City as "a small club with a small mentality"

…except when Sir Alex does it, obviously. Three months later, it seems Fergie had changed his tune, criticising City for erecting a billboard featuring Carlos Tevez, their recent signing from United, and the tagline 'Welcome To Manchester' in the city centre: "It's City isn't it? They're a small club with a small mentality. All they can talk about is United – they can't get away from it."

5) Declaring that Keith Hackett wasn't "doing his job properly"

In March 2008, Ferguson blamed referee Martin Atkinson for a series of bad decisions during his side's defeat against Portsmouth in the FA Cup, and slated referees chief Keith Hackett in the process: "I'm assessed as a manager – and that [Atkinson’s] performance should not be accepted. Hackett has a lot to answer for – he is not doing his job properly. His favourites always get the games and that’s disappointing."

6) Ranting at Match of the Day commentator John Motson

Back in 1995, Fergie unleashed a torrent of abuse at John Motson after the BBC commentator asked him about Roy Keane's disciplinary record in a post-match interview. "You've no right to ask that question John, you're out of order. You know fine well my ruling on that. Right, that's the interview finished. I'm going to cancel that interview, the whole f***ing lot of it. Cancel it, right? F***ing make sure that does not go out, John."

7) Criticising the Craven Cottage dressing rooms

Ah, the Cottage… one of the most romantic and evocative venues in English football. For everybody except Fergie, that is. Back in May, the United manager decided to aim his ire at the dressing rooms down in SW6. "They're smaller than my office," fumed Fergie, before branding the Portsmouth facilities as "not great" and the Everton changing room as "so narrow it is unbelievable".

8) Kicking a boot at David Beckham

Not everyone might agree that Fergie had something to apologise for here, but even so, it's hardly conduct becoming of a knight of the realm. In February 2003, Sir Alex accidentally kicked a boot at Beckham in anger after United's 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup, leaving the midfielder needing stitches. And it's a good opportunity to relive our favourite Becks quote of all time: "Alex Ferguson is the best manager I've ever had at this level. Well, he's the only manager I've had at this level."

9) Doing the dirty on Brian Kidd

Kidd had been Fergie's loyal lieutenant for years, and had even been spoken of as the Scot's eventual successor. But when the United assistant manager left the club in 1998 to take up the manager's job at Blackburn, he became persona non grata at Old Trafford. In his autobiography, Fergie described Kidd as a "moaner" and "insecure". And when United beat Rovers in 1999 to send them down, Fergie just shrugged and said, "Oh well" during his post-match interview.

10) Branding Gordon Strachan as "untrustworthy"

During his time at Aberdeen, Ferguson was incensed at Strachan's decision to sign a pre-contract agreement to join Cologne in the summer of 1984. "Though I always felt there was a cunning streak in Strachan, I had never imagined that he could pull such a stroke on me," wrote Sir Alex in his autobiography. "I decided this man could not be trusted an inch – I would not want to expose my back to him in a hurry."

[Tee]

A truly embarrassing legacy he will leave. Achievements on the pitch are to be commended but the man has no style or grace and I am glad people are now seeing his true colours.

[dom9]

I'm glad some newspapers are finally joining in.

[PTP]

i hate him more and more!! the thing is, knobheads like this just set themselves up for massive fall - so far he is just about escaped getting a right slaughtering due to people being scared of him and his success a manager - it will happen though, he will have a monumental **** up be it his team on the pitch or his actions off it and it will be a ****ing freefall - all those pundits, players, reporters, interviewers etc etc etc he has ****ed off in the last 15 years will come out the woodwork and stick the boot in!

[Roboklopp]

Hope so, I really do. Good to see it in the press though.

[red g]

loving this anti ferguson bandwagon about ****ing time!!!!

[tsb]

http://fansonline.net/boltonwanderers/article.php?id=324

Megson sticks up for him. Let me guess why...

"He has apologised and then everyone criticised the apology- you are damned if you don't apologise and damned if you do"

He's been called out because it wasn't an unqualified apology. It's the same as saying, "I'm sorry for saying what I said, it was wrong but actually I'm still right".