Following a comment I made on Twitter, recently, which suggested that the current Manchester United manager wasn't fit to the wipe the boots of his predecessor, Sir Matt Busby, I received the following response, "Crap - SAF is one of the few remaining old school managers that respects the tradition of a club." As a consequence of this exchange, I started to wonder (1) how I formed such an opinion and (2) why it should elicit such a response.
(1) Although I was born there, it wasn't until I returned to Liverpool after being evacuated to north Wales during WW2, that I became aware of the rivalry which existed between supporters of the city's two leading football clubs. However, putting aside historical (i.e. religious) reasons, the rivalry was almost always good-humoured and very rarely showed signs of resentment.
When I left Merseyside, my first job was in Manchester and, although I soon discovered most locals supported the team who played in blue, perhaps because the team who played in red were managed by former Liverpool captain, Matt Busby, I felt an affinity towards Manchester United and that sense of empathy continued for some time.
Over the years, however, sadly and for a variety of reasons, 'The Red Devils' have gone down in my opinion. For example - and I don't dispute the fact that promising players were always bought by leading clubs - MUFC were the first to introduce a strategy of 'buying' a football team to this country and, in so doing, set a trend which continues to this day.
With few exceptions, skills demonstrated by the likes of Matt Busby and Bill Shankly have become almost redundant. In saying that, by the way, I won't deny Alex Ferguson (and his Academy staff) deserve credit for producing a youth team with Beckham, Scholes, Butt, and the Neville brothers in it. However, that was quite a while ago and, since those days, he has relied more and more on the strength of his chairman's cheque book.
Turning, now, to another reason why I became disenchanted with MUFC. Some would say that Mr. Ferguson is responsible for making 'envy' a factor within English football - and I would agree. However, I'm not alluding to other people being envious of him. On the contrary, I mean his envy for the success of the team at the other end of The East Lancs Road. Almost as soon as he arrived at Old Trafford, he declared his desire - as he put it - "to knock Liverpool Football Club off their perch." and, as the years have gone by, he never misses an opportunity to undermine them.
Now, at this stage it would interesting (and easy) to hypothesise about the similarities between the type of envy to which I refer and the 'Politics of Envy' so often promoted by those within the political circles with which Mr. Ferguson is happy to be associated. Sufficient to say, like many other champagne socialists, Sir Alex has been well-rewarded for his support.
...............and speaking of support - and referring back to the first paragraph - this brings me to (2).
(2) As I mentioned earlier, the rivalry between the supporters of Liverpool and Everton was generally good-natured. There was never, for example, the degree of ill-feeling which exists between the two main Glasgow teams - where, all too often, violence was a factor at 'Old Firm' games. Perhaps it is no coincidence, therefore, that the antipathy which has developed in recent times between the supporters of Liverpool and Manchester United (which absolutely did not exist twenty or thirty years ago) has only come to light since a native of Glasgow took over the reins at Old Trafford. Unfortunately, SAF's vitriol has proved to be infectious in so far his fans are concerned and that might explain the aformentioned response to my criticism of him.
So, despite Manchester United's undoubted successes, it's unlikely they would have been achieved without the deep pockets of the chairmen. Accordingly, I feel entirely justified in suggesting that SAF couldn't hold a candle to Sir Matt as a coach. Furthermore, turning to the effect he has had on the attitude and the behaviour of MUFC fans, I don't think anyone would doubt that SAF is the master of what have become known as 'mind games'. Whether, or not, that is to be admired is a matter of opinion and, somewhat inconveniently, not all his fans are as intelligent as he is and they resort to less subtle means to demonstrate their feelings.
n.b.
From the point of view of someone who has lived in all three cities (Liverpool, Greater Manchester, and Glasgow) and bearing in mind the religious background of all the clubs I mentioned, one of the sweetest ironies of the circumstances which I have described is that a former player of Glasgow Rangers should be promoting the interests of Manchester United at the expense of Liverpool Football Club.
(1) Although I was born there, it wasn't until I returned to Liverpool after being evacuated to north Wales during WW2, that I became aware of the rivalry which existed between supporters of the city's two leading football clubs. However, putting aside historical (i.e. religious) reasons, the rivalry was almost always good-humoured and very rarely showed signs of resentment.
When I left Merseyside, my first job was in Manchester and, although I soon discovered most locals supported the team who played in blue, perhaps because the team who played in red were managed by former Liverpool captain, Matt Busby, I felt an affinity towards Manchester United and that sense of empathy continued for some time.
Over the years, however, sadly and for a variety of reasons, 'The Red Devils' have gone down in my opinion. For example - and I don't dispute the fact that promising players were always bought by leading clubs - MUFC were the first to introduce a strategy of 'buying' a football team to this country and, in so doing, set a trend which continues to this day.
With few exceptions, skills demonstrated by the likes of Matt Busby and Bill Shankly have become almost redundant. In saying that, by the way, I won't deny Alex Ferguson (and his Academy staff) deserve credit for producing a youth team with Beckham, Scholes, Butt, and the Neville brothers in it. However, that was quite a while ago and, since those days, he has relied more and more on the strength of his chairman's cheque book.
Turning, now, to another reason why I became disenchanted with MUFC. Some would say that Mr. Ferguson is responsible for making 'envy' a factor within English football - and I would agree. However, I'm not alluding to other people being envious of him. On the contrary, I mean his envy for the success of the team at the other end of The East Lancs Road. Almost as soon as he arrived at Old Trafford, he declared his desire - as he put it - "to knock Liverpool Football Club off their perch." and, as the years have gone by, he never misses an opportunity to undermine them.
Now, at this stage it would interesting (and easy) to hypothesise about the similarities between the type of envy to which I refer and the 'Politics of Envy' so often promoted by those within the political circles with which Mr. Ferguson is happy to be associated. Sufficient to say, like many other champagne socialists, Sir Alex has been well-rewarded for his support.
...............and speaking of support - and referring back to the first paragraph - this brings me to (2).
(2) As I mentioned earlier, the rivalry between the supporters of Liverpool and Everton was generally good-natured. There was never, for example, the degree of ill-feeling which exists between the two main Glasgow teams - where, all too often, violence was a factor at 'Old Firm' games. Perhaps it is no coincidence, therefore, that the antipathy which has developed in recent times between the supporters of Liverpool and Manchester United (which absolutely did not exist twenty or thirty years ago) has only come to light since a native of Glasgow took over the reins at Old Trafford. Unfortunately, SAF's vitriol has proved to be infectious in so far his fans are concerned and that might explain the aformentioned response to my criticism of him.
So, despite Manchester United's undoubted successes, it's unlikely they would have been achieved without the deep pockets of the chairmen. Accordingly, I feel entirely justified in suggesting that SAF couldn't hold a candle to Sir Matt as a coach. Furthermore, turning to the effect he has had on the attitude and the behaviour of MUFC fans, I don't think anyone would doubt that SAF is the master of what have become known as 'mind games'. Whether, or not, that is to be admired is a matter of opinion and, somewhat inconveniently, not all his fans are as intelligent as he is and they resort to less subtle means to demonstrate their feelings.
n.b.
From the point of view of someone who has lived in all three cities (Liverpool, Greater Manchester, and Glasgow) and bearing in mind the religious background of all the clubs I mentioned, one of the sweetest ironies of the circumstances which I have described is that a former player of Glasgow Rangers should be promoting the interests of Manchester United at the expense of Liverpool Football Club.
