Champions League quarter-finals

[dww]

Really? Unbelievable. Sadly I was working last night so missed the fun.

I heard some gormless dullard from Sale ring up 5Live to complain about the pundits questioning Ferguson's tactics. Mark Lawrenson was quite good when the bloke defended Ferguson's racist comments but also said they had explicitly not questioned his tactics. Why not? That's his job, isn't it?

It was all a bit odd. The thing is that they were at points questioning whether or not he should have taken Rooney of earlier but none of them had the courage of their convictions. That guy on 5Live was such a tit, although to be fair to him nearly every week you get someone on saying the same - as if a/ Fergies record means he never makes mistakes and b/ only those with two European cups and however many league titles are allowed to comment on his decisions. It seems a massive flaw that no one ever calls them on it and asks why they bother phoning in having presumably never achieved anything in the world of football or why they are listening to a radio talk show in which it is almost certain that most contributors will be similarly handicapped in terms of critical analysis of the subject at hand.

Ferguson has made major tactical f*ck-ups in each of the last three games, starting with replacing a midfielder (OK it was Carrick but still) with Berbatov in the first leg. If they don't win the title his appalling tactics have cost them two major trophies.

I think the fact that Fergie is at his best with a strong assistant has been shown from last years CL final onwards really. He is often tactically weak at the very highest level, but has in the past managed to choose assistants who help him greatly.

[Shaggy]

And now he's got Mike Phelan!

[dww]

And now he's got Mike Phelan!

A man, who he consistently refused to appoint as assistant for ages as he clearly wanted someone better.

[PTP]

[Exiled_red]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,195...082022,00.html

Ferguson escapes punishment
European governing body will not act on 'typical Germans' comment
Last updated: 8th April 2010

Uefa has confirmed that Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will not face any disciplinary action after his 'typical Germans' comment aimed at Bayern Munich.

The Scot was left frustrated after defender Rafael was sent off in the second leg of his side's UEFA Champions League quarter-final defeat on away goals on Wednesday night.

Ferguson accused Louis van Gaal's Bayern side of putting referee Nicola Rizzoli under pressure to show Rafael the red card for two bookable offences.

United's manager said after the game: "The young boy showed a bit of inexperience but they got him sent off, everyone sprinted towards the referee, typical Germans."

Uefa, though, has said that the matter will not be the subject of an additional investigation and Ferguson faces no punishment.

No suprises there then.

[Craig_H]

Havent had much time to post on here in the last few days, so whilst it may be belated, can i just say....

[-V-]

Havent had much time to post on here in the last few days, so whilst it may be belated, can i just say....

Tis been a good few days

[Kenneth]

Just seen on the Guardian site that Fergie is still ranting about the sending off. In fact, he's totally lost it today in the press conference. Take a look, proper nutter.

[bradsdad]

The seven dwarves are down in the mines when there is a cave-in. Snow White runs to the entrance and yells down to them. In the distance a voice shouts out "manchester united are good enough to win the European Cup." Snow White says "Well at least Dopey's alive!"

[Shaggy]

Just seen on the Guardian site that Fergie is still ranting about the sending off. In fact, he's totally lost it today in the press conference. Take a look, proper nutter.

Embarrassing...


Disgusted Sir Alex Ferguson claims press is blinded by 'mist of venom'
• United manager criticises coverage of Bayern defeat
• Munich players 'bullied young referee'

guardian.co.uk, Friday 9 April 2010 22.00 BST

Still nursing the wounds from Manchester United's controversial elimination from the Champions League, Sir Alex Ferguson rounded on what he called a "mist of venom" surrounding the club.

The United manager was aggrieved that the excellence of his side's first-half performance against Bayern Munich had been forgotten amid his comments that the way Bayern's players had surrounded the referee in a successful attempt to get Rafael da Silva dismissed was "typical Germans".

"The most important thing about Wednesday night's game is how well we played. But you have lost that in the mist of your venom," he told reporters at the club's training ground at Carrington. "The Germans let themselves down in the way they behaved by getting the boy sent off. If they don't recognise that, there is nothing I can do about that. It was totally unfair – they bullied a young referee into it."

"He [Rafael] has barely touched him. [Franck] Ribéry did more to him than he did to Ribéry. The issue was how the Germans reacted; they knew the boy was on a yellow card, they surrounded the referee. We see that happen time and time again with players waving an imaginary card to the referee – and he succumbed.

"I don't know if it was last season or the season before, but there was a referee's edict that anyone showing an imaginary card should themselves be booked. Well, there were six that should have been booked. What has been lost in all this is our performance. We were 3-0 up and it could have been 5-0. We were magnificent and that has been lost just because you want a headline about what I say about the Germans. That is disgusting, absolutely disgusting. The players deserved some praise from you lot because their performance was outstanding. At the end of the game you are forced by Uefa rules to do a television interview. It is a bad time to do it."

Ferguson has always been suspicious of flash interviews conducted immediately after the final whistle when emotions are at their height. His sometime mentor Jock Stein told him a manager should wait at least 48 hours before commenting on a controversial game. And he has long been suspicious of the club's press corps, whom he accused of celebrating United's defeat in last year's European Cup final.

"Someone told me the other day that when the press came back from the Rome final [against Barcelona] they were all delighted," he said. "They were on the press bus and pleased that we lost. It is disappointing when there is a British team in a European final and even one member of the British press wants us to lose. Someone on the bus told me he was absolutely disgusted at the behaviour of the British press at the European Cup final and he had no reason to lie to me."

His accusations carried echoes of an incident in December 2005 when Ferguson was appalled by suggestions that some journalists flying back with the team from Lisbon after United's elimination from the Champions League by Benfica ordered champagne.

Ferguson did not comment on reports in the Guardian that Manchester United's debt had meant they were unable to fund a bid for the Valencia forward David Villa. The signing of the 21-year-old Javier Hernández and the Fulham centre-half Chris Smalling is evidence that Manchester United's transfer policy will be aimed at younger, cheaper footballers.

"There is always conjecture about players," Ferguson said. "Last summer it was Ribéry and Karim Benzema, and he was one of the targets that we set out to get because he was 21, and now it is David Villa. I am sure by the end of the season there will be half a dozen more."

Ferguson has admitted he did not bring Benzema to Old Trafford because he thought the €35m (£30.7m) fee Real Madrid paid Lyon was inflated, adding that United had to move swiftly to sign Hernández from Chivas de Guadalajara once he made the Mexican national squad because his price was in danger of rising. "That created a problem for us," he said, "because, if he went to the World Cup and did well, we were going to lose him."

The manager was adamant that Wayne Rooney would play no part against Blackburn on Sunday after aggravating his ankle injury at Old Trafford against Bayern in a match that Ferguson had said the striker would miss. However Rooney's wife, Coleen, at Aintree for the Grand National meeting, suggested the England international was making a typically rapid recovery. "He is fine and his ankle is fine," she said. "He has been into training today."

[Neil Young]

Embarrassing...

The daft racist.

[Leyton388]

**** him the drunken old odious, racist ****! The fact is they have been shown up against a pretty average Bayern team by spunking away a 3 goal lead on their own patch!

The fact that united have won the league for the past three years is more down to the fact that Chelsea have had 3 managers in that time than united being all conquering. If Jose was still in charge at Chelsea i doubt very much united would be on 18 titles today and have won the european cup in Moscow.

[Vermilion]

**** him the drunken old odious, racist ****! The fact is they have been shown up against a pretty average Bayern team by spunking away a 3 goal lead on their own patch!

The fact that united have won the league for the past three years is more down to the fact that Chelsea have had 3 managers in that time than united being all conquering. If Jose was still in charge at Chelsea i doubt very much united would be on 18 titles today and have won the european cup in Moscow.

Agree, he's won the Prem many many times, so he should know better than most, yet this squad he's built is so reliant on Rooney it's unreal.

And considering utd were the only club that could have signed Rooney too...it's hardly an inspired signing either.

[badpiggy]

Embarrassing...


Disgusted Sir Alex Ferguson claims press is blinded by 'mist of venom'
• United manager criticises coverage of Bayern defeat
• Munich players 'bullied young referee'

guardian.co.uk, Friday 9 April 2010 22.00 BST

Still nursing the wounds from Manchester United's controversial elimination from the Champions League, Sir Alex Ferguson rounded on what he called a "mist of venom" surrounding the club.

The United manager was aggrieved that the excellence of his side's first-half performance against Bayern Munich had been forgotten amid his comments that the way Bayern's players had surrounded the referee in a successful attempt to get Rafael da Silva dismissed was "typical Germans".

"The most important thing about Wednesday night's game is how well we played. But you have lost that in the mist of your venom," he told reporters at the club's training ground at Carrington. "The Germans let themselves down in the way they behaved by getting the boy sent off. If they don't recognise that, there is nothing I can do about that. It was totally unfair – they bullied a young referee into it."

"He [Rafael] has barely touched him. [Franck] Ribéry did more to him than he did to Ribéry. The issue was how the Germans reacted; they knew the boy was on a yellow card, they surrounded the referee. We see that happen time and time again with players waving an imaginary card to the referee – and he succumbed.

"I don't know if it was last season or the season before, but there was a referee's edict that anyone showing an imaginary card should themselves be booked. Well, there were six that should have been booked. What has been lost in all this is our performance. We were 3-0 up and it could have been 5-0. We were magnificent and that has been lost just because you want a headline about what I say about the Germans. That is disgusting, absolutely disgusting. The players deserved some praise from you lot because their performance was outstanding. At the end of the game you are forced by Uefa rules to do a television interview. It is a bad time to do it."

Ferguson has always been suspicious of flash interviews conducted immediately after the final whistle when emotions are at their height. His sometime mentor Jock Stein told him a manager should wait at least 48 hours before commenting on a controversial game. And he has long been suspicious of the club's press corps, whom he accused of celebrating United's defeat in last year's European Cup final.

"Someone told me the other day that when the press came back from the Rome final [against Barcelona] they were all delighted," he said. "They were on the press bus and pleased that we lost. It is disappointing when there is a British team in a European final and even one member of the British press wants us to lose. Someone on the bus told me he was absolutely disgusted at the behaviour of the British press at the European Cup final and he had no reason to lie to me."

His accusations carried echoes of an incident in December 2005 when Ferguson was appalled by suggestions that some journalists flying back with the team from Lisbon after United's elimination from the Champions League by Benfica ordered champagne.

Ferguson did not comment on reports in the Guardian that Manchester United's debt had meant they were unable to fund a bid for the Valencia forward David Villa. The signing of the 21-year-old Javier Hernández and the Fulham centre-half Chris Smalling is evidence that Manchester United's transfer policy will be aimed at younger, cheaper footballers.

"There is always conjecture about players," Ferguson said. "Last summer it was Ribéry and Karim Benzema, and he was one of the targets that we set out to get because he was 21, and now it is David Villa. I am sure by the end of the season there will be half a dozen more."

Ferguson has admitted he did not bring Benzema to Old Trafford because he thought the €35m (£30.7m) fee Real Madrid paid Lyon was inflated, adding that United had to move swiftly to sign Hernández from Chivas de Guadalajara once he made the Mexican national squad because his price was in danger of rising. "That created a problem for us," he said, "because, if he went to the World Cup and did well, we were going to lose him."

The manager was adamant that Wayne Rooney would play no part against Blackburn on Sunday after aggravating his ankle injury at Old Trafford against Bayern in a match that Ferguson had said the striker would miss. However Rooney's wife, Coleen, at Aintree for the Grand National meeting, suggested the England international was making a typically rapid recovery. "He is fine and his ankle is fine," she said. "He has been into training today."

holy **** didn't hear the piss-stinking wifebeater say too much about that hatched-headed-composite-of-cunts macheda fumbling the ball into chelsea's net with both claws last weekend. he's in a category of ****** all of his own.

[Robster007]

I'm absolutely ****ing loving this