The second chapter of my unpublished book on the 2007/8 season is below.
To read the first chapter, go here. Otherwise, read on…
August
On Friday 3rd August, Carlos Tevez arrived at Manchester United’s Carrington training ground to undergo a medical. United agreed a two year ‘loan’ deal with Kia Joorabchian’s MSI firm whereby they would pay a fee of £5m for each season the player was leased to them; an agreement was set in place that if United wished to buy him outright at any time, they would pay £35m, though it wasn’t crystal clear whether the loan fees already paid would form part of that fee. To resolve the lingering issue with West Ham, Joorabchian paid West Ham a £2m fee in settlement; once Tevez had revealed his desire to move to Old Trafford, West Ham insisted they should be paid a transfer fee.
The Premier League released a statement making their position clear: “The Premier League can confirm their board have received and considered a proposal for the settlement of the dispute between Carlos Tevez and West Ham. The decision of the board, having received leading counsel’s opinion, is that the agreement reached is compliant with the rules of the Premier League and is consistent with the undertakings given by West Ham United to the Premier League board at various times since April 27, 2007. This will lead to the cancellation of Tevez’s registration, releasing him to join another club.”
The major topic of conversation in Sir Alex’s pre-match press conference ahead of the Community Shield match against Chelsea was ambition. Chelsea’s own summer signings hadn’t exactly captured the imagination of their supporters — Florent Malouda was the big money buy at £13.7m while Steve Sidwell, Tal Ben Haim and Claudio Pizarro joined on free transfers. With speculation raging about Arjen Robben’s future, there was a justified argument to say Chelsea were going to be in a weaker position as they attempted to win the title again.
For Sir Alex Ferguson, making up for the European disappointment was a priority. He said: “In the circumstances, we did well to win the league title,” he said. “But I was left with a feeling with just a few more players, we might have reached the European final and perhaps won the FA Cup. We had a bad run of injuries in the final part of the season, but we have now pulled together one of the strongest squads it has ever been my pleasure to manage. My job is to keep this club at the forefront of the game and adding the new players will strengthen us, especially in the Champions League. We have faltered in three European semi-finals now and a club of our stature should be doing better. Our new players will hopefully enable us to get over that final hurdle. Owen Hargreaves, Nani, Anderson and, hopefully, Carlos Tevez give us a really strong squad…
“You have quite an interesting battle developing in which a target of 90 points can win the title. Never expect anything other than a tough Premier League competition. But unfortunately it doesn’t always work out that way. By January, there are two or three teams who usually break away. The top four have all done a bit of buying to add to their squads so you would expect Arsenal and Liverpool to improve. They finished 20 points behind us last season and they won’t want to be that far behind this time. Chelsea, too, have added a few and still have a very big squad, so you don’t expect much of a change there. Winning is the name of the game and last season we had a fantastic way that was entertaining and satisfying.”
Style was a bit of a buzz word at the time; Chelsea had won titles in 2005 and 2006 with monotonous consistency, squeezing the life out of their opponents. United’s vibrancy had been a breath of fresh air. “There is plenty of entertainment there – there is no question about that,” said the United boss. “But we still have to be winners. It’s all right saying there is potential but that potential has to be realised. At the end of the day, we have to be winners. I think we did it last season the right way. That was satisfying for us. We played some fantastic football and were the top scorers. I hope this time we’ll look to improve in terms of the attacking part but we want to be winners. That gives great responsibility to the back four and Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick in midfield. We play attacking football because we think it is winning football – we don’t do it to look pretty. You can play chess for ten hours and still lose.”
Ferguson was keen to talk up his new arrivals and also passed comment on the transfer activity of the other contenders. “It’s hard to assess the summer transfers but we felt part of our buying was for the future in the shape of Nani and Anderson,” he said. “We thought we might as well spend now and stop other clubs from getting them. In a year, everyone would have been after them. It was a calculated risk to bring them in now but we think a good one. And Hargreaves, particularly in Europe, will be very important. Anderson can develop into a similar type of player to Paul Scholes. But, after he recovered from a broken leg, Porto played him up front and he did that well, so he gives options.
“We have got a very strong squad and I’ll keep all the young players who were on loan last season, so we will operate with a squad of 28 or 29. Liverpool have also brought in a lot of young players, particularly from Spain, for their academy and they have also spent a lot on their first team. We know all about Fernando Torres and they have probably got him at the right time and at the right age. There’s always pressure on teams who haven’t won the league for some time – we had it for 26 years! You think you are getting there, then get knocked back. Spurs are on the right lines. They have improved and Darren Bent will give them pace up front.”
Chelsea, however, were without doubt going to be the main challengers, and the game against them at Wembley would be competitive, though Ferguson was keen to put it into perspective. “It has always been difficult to assess just how important this game is because a lot of times we have used it as stepping-stone to the new season by playing players who needed a game,” he said. “That has been the way we have always viewed it, but this will be a competitive game, even though we have used it as a stepping-stone over past seasons. I don’t think you can avoid that because we will be up against a team who will be competing against us for the top honours.”
With the injuries, and Carlos Tevez yet to sign, Wayne Rooney was set to lead the line as United’s only fit striker. Rooney spoke in glowing terms about the performance of his team-mates in the previous season. “I knew we had the potential, because we had a young squad and the players were growing well together as a team,” he said. “We started the season really well and were consistent. In ourselves, we knew we didn’t have to bring players in, knew we were capable of winning it with the side we had. We already had players like myself and Cristiano Ronaldo, while Darren Fletcher was brilliant for us. And we signed Michael Carrick, who came in and did well.”
Rooney was speaking after it was announced he would wear the number 10 shirt after wearing the number eight in his first three seasons at the club. Assistant manager Carlos Queiroz was effusive in his praise for the young England forward, likening him to Eric Cantona. “He has the talent and the ambition,” said Queiroz. “Wayne is a young player and he can improve a lot, but it will happen naturally because he has such great desire and he’s open to new challenges.”
All seemed well and rosy; however, there was a ‘bad egg’ in the camp. Earlier in the summer Gabriel Heinze made it clear that he wanted to leave Manchester United and join, of all teams, Liverpool, going so far as to promise Rafa Benitez that he would go to Anfield. Of course, that was not going to happen under Sir Alex. Heinze took matters into his own hands and acquired a legal team, who claimed to have a letter from United informing the player he could leave for any club so long as the valuation was met.
In late July there was the suggestion that Juventus may be interested, and United let it be known that they would be willing to do business, but Heinze insisted he only wanted to move to Liverpool. It made it all the more bizarre when Heinze gave an interview to Sky Sports magazine over the summer where he praised Ferguson’s man-management and said “We have an excellent team spirit at United. He (Ferguson) even keeps squad players not involved focused because they might be needed. It’s a great skill.”
Ferguson’s response to the legal action was to suggest he was quite happy to let Heinze rot in the reserves until his contract expired in two years time. In his most recent autobiography, Ferguson lifted the lid on the problems with the defender, saying he had a mercenary streak and always seemed to be looking for a new deal. He revealed that Heinze had already asked to leave each summer he’d been at the club. “When he returned fully from injury, he went to see David Gill with his agent and we agreed we would be better off without him,” Ferguson said. “We agreed to let him go for £9 million. They went straight to Liverpool, who said they would take him. Gabriel was told, with no ambiguity, that historically Manchester United do not sell players to Liverpool, and vice versa. Heinze’s advisers then tried to make a legal issue of it, which led to a meeting in London, in which the Premier League sided with us. During that process, the chairman of Crystal Palace contacted David Gill to say someone representing Heinze had asked them to buy him so they could later sell him on to Liverpool. We used that information as part of our evidence.”
Heinze was due to return to Carrington the day after the Community Shield; United were being linked with a move for Wigan’s Leighton Baines, but it seemed as if Everton would win the race with a £6m deal. Ferguson was keen to speak with his player before going into the market. “We have got to find out his role in this but I think the roles have been conducted by the agents,” he said. “They were even asking last summer for Gabby to leave. They were wanting to find a club for him even then. We have got to understand where he is in all this. But it didn’t look to me that he wanted to leave the way he performed last season. We will speak to him on Monday.”
United received an unlikely ally supporting their stance; Liverpool icon Steve McManaman. “I can understand where Sir Alex Ferguson is coming from,” he said. “I would not sell one of my best players to one of my rivals. You wouldn’t want to strengthen one of your main rivals. It is ridiculous – but also, if this piece of paper exists that says he can go for whatever and it is legally binding, you can see why Liverpool want to buy such a good tough-tackling top-quality defender. Rafa just wants the best players available. I don’t think he is that bothered by getting one over on Manchester United, they have just romped away with the league. I don’t think it is about one-upmanship. It is great to paint these pictures of managers trying to get one over on each other and making sneaky comments here and there. Most of them take it with a laugh and a joke, Rafa has obviously been told he can get this player for that amount of money. He is a fantastic player. He would be a great addition to Liverpool’s squad, he thinks he might be able to get him and United think it’s a load of rubbish and don’t want to sell to their rivals. But as soon as somebody says the lawyers are involved, it is like ‘kerching’. It takes it to another level but I only know what I read.”
The Heinze situation would rumble on a little longer; Ferguson’s more immediate attention was drawn to renewing the rivalry with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. Mourinho was adjusting to his first summer without that ‘special’ touch after winning consecutive league titles and, when it came to the recruitment at his club, there was the suggestion all was not well; talk which led all the way back to the summer of 2006, when Chelsea signed Andrei Shevchenko and Michael Ballack amidst disagreement about who actually wanted them at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho had pledged to not be quite so outspoken in the following season and Ferguson felt it was the right approach. “It’s probably a good thing for him because he was getting himself into all sorts of difficulties,” he said. “There is a reason behind everything he tries. He does things to suit himself. When he first came over he did really well on the publicity side in his first year because he was brash, young, he brought a bit of colour and endeared himself to a lot of people. He caught the attention of the media and had them right where he wanted them, right by his side. But he’s not stupid. I think he’s realised everyone has cottoned on to that and that it doesn’t have the same impact. He’s obviously not relished the bad publicity. He has obviously learned his lesson a little bit. Everybody does. He’s young, isn’t he? What is he, 45? I was 44 when I came to United. I think the most important thing is that he has changed the way he does the publicity side before and after games. That’s not a bad thing. None of it worries me, though. I’m quite happy for other people to get publicity. I’ve said time and again that my job is to keep us out of the spotlight.”
One player who wouldn’t be taking part at Wembley was Owen Hargreaves; the midfielder played in a friendly at Peterborough the day before. “It was important to get 45 minutes under my belt,” he said. “I hope to be involved against Reading. It was frustrating not to play on the Asian tour but I’m looking to playing 60 minutes against Dunfermline.”
Franz Beckenbauer revealed that Hargreaves had begged to go to United and work with the manager he insisted was the best in the world. “I talked to Owen many times and he always said the same things,” Beckenbauer said. “I can see why he wanted to go. For me too, Alex is the best in the world… I like Owen very much and we are definitely missing him. But it was his dream to play for Man United.”
Another player with similar contentment was Carlos Tevez; in the hours before the Community Shield, it was announced that his move had been confirmed. “We have a couple of games on Wednesday and Carlos will be involved in one of them,” said Ferguson. “He trained with us on Friday and was very enthusiastic.”
Kia Joorabchian said Tevez had informed him he hoped he would be a United player for ‘a long time to come’. “He’s absolutely thrilled to join Manchester United,” he said.
The press on the morning of the game included an interview that Barcelona midfielder Deco gave to the Daily Star on Sunday. Deco said that a move to United or Chelsea interested him but his praise was mainly reserved for the Premier League champions after they had signed his compatriot. “Nani has everything to be a success, a lot of quality, and it is an advantage for him to play with Cristiano,” he told the newspaper. “Cristiano has been there, he knows the story and he will be able to help Nani, to show what is needed to succeed… Of course, Chelsea are a strong team but Manchester United are an even stronger team now they have Nani,” he said. “Liverpool haven’t done very well in the league but have done very well in the Champions League last year and Arsenal have a good history so they’re always going to be in the run-up. With a team like Rooney, Ronaldo and Nani, United must be looking at this season’s Champions League. Last year, United already demonstrated that they are a very good team when they reached the semi-finals. This year, they are even stronger. They are one of the best teams in the world!”
The first Community Shield to be played at the new Wembley Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw. United had the better of the opening exchanges and Ryan Giggs had already forced Petr Cech into a save before he did get the ball past him; Patrice Evra made a run into the crowded box and pulled the ball back, and from around twelve yards out, Giggs placed the ball into the right hand corner. United’s lead lasted ten minutes; Chelsea’s equaliser, just before the break, also came down the left. Ashley Cole’s lofted pass caught Wes Brown out of position and Florent Malouda was able to control the ball’s momentum; Rio Ferdinand struggled with the movement and the French winger scored on his debut.
The second half was uneventful and the game went to penalties; referee Mark Halsey blew his whistle to commence the shootout while Edwin van der Sar was still making his way into the goalmouth. Chelsea debutant Pizarro sportingly waited; in front of the Chelsea fans, though, his kick was tipped on to the crossbar by the Dutch goalkeeper. Rio Ferdinand was the surprise choice to take United’s first kick and he hit it beautifully into the bottom left hand corner. Chelsea’s regular taker, Frank Lampard, was next; van der Sar dived the same way, and it was the same result. Save. Former Aston Villa and Everton forward Andy Gray was on commentary for Sky Sports and said, “These are not the worst penalties I’ve ever seen. The goalkeeper deserves a lot of credit.”
Michael Carrick took United’s next kick and placed it in the same part of the goal as Ferdinand had; Cech, who had gone the right way for the first, went the wrong way for the second.When Shaun Wright-Phillips saw his penalty saved well by United’s stopper, Wayne Rooney stepped up with the previously unlikely situation that the third penalty could win the game. And it did; the forward placed his effort in the same area as those who went before him, and Cech couldn’t reach it. Nine months later, the scenario would be replayed, albeit in much more tense and close circumstances. For United’s goalkeeper — the ‘hero’ of this somewhat subdued occasion — it was still a proud achievement.
“I have never saved three penalties in a row before,” said Van Der Sar. “It has been done before, I remember Helmuth Duckadam saving all four for Steaua Bucharest in the 1986 European Cup Final against Barcelona. That was a little bit of a bigger thing to win than the Community Shield but we are happy with this one anyway. Over the last four or five years, I have learned to cope a little better with penalties. Before yesterday, I was 5-2 down in shoot-outs in my career, so at least I have pulled that back a little bit. It just proves even if you get older, you can still learn things.”
Mick Dennis, Football Correspondent for the Daily Express, observed that Sir Alex Ferguson was relaxed on an afternoon the journalist declared a ‘rip off’ for the supporters. “The Manchester United manager normally has only two modes at matches – agitated anxiety or red-faced fury,” Dennis wrote. “But yesterday, as his team ambled amiably about in the sunshine against an equally apathetic Chelsea, Fergie sat serenely relaxed in his shorts and training top, soaking up the rays and mostly unconcerned by activities on the pitch. United won a penalty shoot-out that was exciting enough, but during the 1-1 draw which filled the 90 minutes before that, Sir Alex was so blase about the Community Shield that, for most of the time, he couldn’t even be bothered to chew gum.”
One man did take it seriously, however. “It is true that nobody had told Wayne Rooney that the match was meaningless,” Dennis said. “The 21-year-old England striker charged about like a rabid bull and showed the complete lack of restraint which makes him such a liability. He kicked people, abused the officials and traded insults with the crowd.”
As soon as the game had finished everyone was looking forward. The United manager was asked if he expected to see Gabriel Heinze turn up on Monday. “Maybe we will see him,” said Ferguson. “But you never know with situations like these. I certainly hope he turns up.”
Heinze was, inevitably, the biggest news topic of a surprisingly low key build up to United’s opening game of the Premier League against Reading. He did show up to training but remained determined to move to Liverpool. The meeting with the Premier League was scheduled for the 20th. On the 11th, Ferguson was asked if Heinze had become an alien in the United squad. “He’s not an alien in the squad – not at all,” Ferguson insisted. “He’s a very popular player at the club. There is a meeting on the 20th and we think we have a good case. Heinze and his agents probably think they have got a good case, too, or they wouldn’t have gone this far. But once it’s settled, it’s out of the road and if he’s still a United player, he’ll be treated accordingly. He is a warrior and won’t let us down.”
That same day, United were linked with a move for Sevilla right-back Daniel—later commonly Daniel Alves, and later than that, Dani Alves—with a fee of £20m being suggested. Chelsea were apparently the front-runners having had a £13m offer rejected.
On August 8th, United had two teams in different places, in Dunfermline and Glentoran. Hargreaves played in Scotland, in a team that included Wes Brown, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney. Anderson and Nani played in Belfast alongside Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic. In a 3-0 win, Vidic suffered a facial injury and needed five stitches. The Serb declared himself fit to play against Reading regardless. “He was smiling and looked delighted he needed them (the stitches),” said Ferguson. “Big Pally would have been crying. Pally was always concerned about his good looks. In his last season here, he broke his nose and said he was going to sue me. Vidic has good qualities like Steve Bruce. Brucie would always stick his head in. That is the question you ask a defender – do you want hurt? Brucie did his nose in a few times. He became like Bernard Cribbins. I think Vidic and Ferdinand is a good partnership. They have pace, strength and a good balance. I also expect improvement from Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo this season and I think we will see more authority from Vidic, Patrice Evra, Darren Fletcher and John O’Shea.”
Ahead of playing against Reading, Ferguson was asked how his summer had been. “This is probably the first summer I’ve been able to have a holiday without worrying about signing a player,” he said. “But you get the fixture list on your holidays and as soon as that happens you are starting to plan. You look at the last six games, the first six, the New Year programme and your games after European matches. The only thing the Scot admits he can’t plan for is his health. Suddenly, even an all-conquering manager feels vulnerable. I don’t think you can control your health once you get into your mid-sixties. Once anyone reaches that stage anything can happen. We’ve seen too many examples of that. I feel good and fit. That’s important.”
So Ferguson was fit and well but how motivated were his players? “I don’t think it’s hard to motivate the players here,” he said. “Real footballers, with good ability and good desires, you don’t have to worry about. The players with the problems are those who think they are better than they really are and don’t think they need to work as hard. We don’t have anything like that here. I think winning always helps people. Giggs is going for his 10th championship medal, Scholes and Neville are after their ninth. The ones who have won their first medal will want to win another. The excitement of how they did it last season will still be there. Ryan won’t play in all the games. That is why players like Nani and Anderson help me, with Louis Saha also coming back. Ryan showed fantastic pre-season form. His performances in training are the same as they always were. That is why he is still at the top. Neville, Scholes and Giggs have all been fantastic. They have always looked after themselves. They have a pride in that and it’s why they are still here.”
Giggs would have to start the season in a withdrawn forward position as Carlos Tevez had not played in either of the midweek friendlies; the boss insisted his team would try and play in the way they had been over the last year, but warned that it may be a tough afternoon. “Although we hope to do it the right way, sometimes you don’t get the performance you want,” he said. “You have to grind out a result, like at Manchester City last season.”
United were dominant but their difficulties up front showed. Steve Coppell, the Reading manager and of course a United legend, had observed Fulham’s opening day capitulation the year before and set up his newly-promoted side to be conservative. Their five man midfield stifled United, presenting a headache for Ferguson long before that was upgraded to a migraine when Wayne Rooney went down after defender Michael Duberry stood on his foot. For Rooney to stay on the ground, it meant the injury must be serious, and the whole of Old Trafford took a sharp intake of breath as they remembered the fact that Rooney had already broken his metatarsal on two separate occasions before. He surprisingly came back on to the pitch to see out the last five minutes of the first half, but as soon as the whistle went, he removed his boots and walked off the pitch.
Rooney was replaced at half-time by Nani. The young winger looked quite lively on his league debut but his end product was nullified by Reading’s well-drilled defence. Even when Dave Kitson was sent off just 37 seconds after coming off—following an absurdly over the top challenge on Patrice Evra which could have seriously injured the defender—Reading stood firm. Ferguson resorted to throwing up John O’Shea for the last few minutes as the visitors appeared content to sit out the game and get their point. Despite having 70 per cent possession and 21 shots at goal, the game finished 0-0.
Worse than the result, and worse than the fact that the other top teams had kicked off their season with wins, was the news on Wayne Rooney. The forward would miss six weeks after it was confirmed that his metatarsal had broken yet again. That meant Carlos Tevez would be thrust into action against Portsmouth. He may not have played any minutes so far but he would nonetheless be expected to start as he meant to go on at Fratton Park. Tevez felt that the year he had spent in England was good preparation for what lay in wait. “I feel like I have grown a lot as a player, particularly having spent last season with West Ham,” he said. “It is a dream to wear the United shirt.”
Tevez started up front and looked very good, immediately impressing with his work-rate and invention. In the fifteenth minute he played a one-two with Nani and cleverly laid off the ball to Paul Scholes. The pass was measured, as if he had been playing with the United midfielder for years, the way he found the number eighteen in a position just outside the ‘D’ in the way Scholes often positioned himself over the years. And the end product was equally familiar; with the time to measure his shot, Scholes’ strike was just as impressive as the assist, beating the outstretched reach of David James and flying into the corner. The strike meant Scholes surpassed Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of 95 Premier League goals for the club. Ryan Giggs almost made it two but this time James was equal to the effort, and his reaction to stop Tevez getting the rebound was just as smart.
United had been in the ascendancy and were playing some good football but this was a very good Portsmouth side, giving home debuts to Sulley Muntari and John Utaka, who both cost £7m, and Dave Nugent, who cost £6m. Indeed, Pompey had inflicted one of United’s league defeats in the prior campaign, and just after half-time, Benjani equalised with a bullet header. The game finished 1-1 but ended with similar controversy to the game against Reading when Muntari was sent off in the 83rd minute for a second yellow card; three minutes later, Steve Bennett had the red card out again, this time for Cristiano Ronaldo, who was deemed to have head butted Richard Hughes as United prepared to take a corner.
Ronaldo faced a suspension of three games at a time United barely needed their firepower restricting. Ferguson was sympathetic with his star man but felt he had fallen into the trap laid for him. “I have tried to look at the incident and there was nothing conclusive there,” said the United boss. “In fact you cannot really see anything. But my take is that he was provoked and that he has fallen for it. But the referee, Steve Bennett, sent him off at City and he will have loved that opportunity to send him off. Cristiano has fallen into the trap, which has happened to him a few times. He has only himself to blame and it left us with 10 men. He’ll miss three games. It’s a big blow for us. I don’t know whether Cristiano lifted his hand but, if you do, there is no other course (for the referee). You get provoked and you have to have a bit of calmness. You have to remind yourself that you are a better player than these players and that is why they are doing it.”
Pompey boss Harry Redknapp decided to be neutral. “I don’t know what he did but I can’t imagine it was anything too bad, but the referee obviously saw something,” he said, before commenting on how he saw the season panning out. “I think it’s going to be really open. The top four will be the top four again but it’s going to be closer.”
As for United’s performance, Ferguson’s reaction was mixed. “We played some fantastic football but we were wasteful with our chances,” he said.
It was a similar story in the first Manchester derby of the season. Ferguson opted to play a front three of Giggs, Tevez and Nani, and called up young Frazier Campbell to the bench as an alternative striking option. With Owen Hargreaves surprisingly called up to make his debut alongside Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes, United could hardly have hoped for a more controlled and composed midfield. City, under new owner Thaksin Shinawatra, had spent over £40m with the promise of more to come. Rolando Bianchi, Vedran Ćorluka, Elano and Valeri Bojinov all for fees north of £5m. It, was, ironically, a player who cost them nothing — Geovanni, the midfielder who had scored against United for Benfica to eliminate them at the group stages — who scored the decisive goal in what was being billed as the most expensive derby in history. His 31st minute effort from twenty yards deflected off Vidic and went past Van der Sar. Michael Johnson had hit a wayward shot from a similar distance a minute earlier; before that, City had spent the entire opening half-hour penned back in their own half. United could have scored a couple by that point, with Nani denied on three occasions by Kasper Schmeichel. When Schmeichel was beaten to the ball by Vidic, the ball was cleared from danger by Richard Dunne.
Geovanni was the match-winner but it was Dunne’s defensive partner, Micah Richards, who put in the best performance of his short career so far, a man-of-the-match display filled with blocks and last ditch tackles to give some impression of how City were stretched. Vidic hit the bar with a thunderous header early in the second half and United brought on Campbell who looked as if he might threaten, but it was to no avail. Ferguson had watched his team dominate three games and come away with just two points, their worst start to a Premier League season since the very first back in 1992. City, on the other hand, celebrated a perfect start with their 1-0 win, leading to some premature suggestions of a power shift. What did have some truth, though, were observations that United had yet to rediscover the cutting edge, and even though they were missing both Ronaldo and Rooney, some journalists believed the problems ran deeper. “United still look like they need another striker, with Sir Alex Ferguson forced to send on untried 19-year-old front man Frazier Campbell in the closing stages,” wrote Daily Star journalist Bill Thornton.
Ferguson didn’t disagree that his team looked as if they lacked the clinical edge but was calm enough to know that it was present at the club, just unavailable to him on the day. “It just wasn’t our day,” he said. “We have been very wasteful in front of goal. That’s the nuts and bolts of it. I don’t think it’s a case of saying City were lucky, simply because we had so many opportunities ourselves. It’s our own fault because of our shortcomings in the last third of the field. You wish you had your main strikers there, of course. But we didn’t have and you saw the evidence of that. With the number of chances and possession we had we should have won.” Still, there was no getting away from the hugely underwhelming start United had experienced. “We’ve got ourselves in an uphill fight now,” he admitted. “Ten years ago we could have handled that because we were always good in the second half of the season. Now, we are going to have to be! The most important thing is to get a win under our belts, so our next match against Tottenham is a very important game for us.”
Ferguson had been in typical bullish mood, with the type of reaction normally reserved for much later in the season, saying that his team would “definitely win” in their next game against Tottenham. Spurs’ visit to Old Trafford enabled a much closer look at Dimitar Berbatov, a player who had been strongly linked to United through the summer.“I told Dimitar that I love him and he told me that he loves me as well,” Spurs boss Martin Jol said. “He thanked me for bringing him over here and I said I would rather die than sell him. I also told one manager that (inquired about him) that I would rather die than sell Dimitar Berbatov.”
Jol was under pressure after Spurs had lost both of their opening games, at Sunderland and then at home to Everton. A 4-0 win over newly-promoted Derby County had done little to dampen speculation that the Dutch manager was set to be sacked. Rumours of his departure had been present since the back end of the previous season, though Jol appeared to have won himself some time with a turnaround in form in the latter months, and had been backed with funds in the summer — Gareth Bale, of course, went to White Hart Lane as one for the future, whilst Darren Bent at £16.5m, Younès Kabul at £8m, and Kevin-Prince Boateng at £5.4m were very much for the present.
Before the game, Ferguson voiced his support to his opposite number. “It is no secret that I interviewed Martin Jol for the position as my No2 when Carlos Queiroz left to go to Real Madrid as manager,” he said. “Martin has an outstanding record in Holland where he worked with very meagre resources. He does not need me to tell him what a good job he has done. It has all been very sad and a knee-jerk reaction to Tottenham’s bad start to the season. The chairman has said his full support is behind the manager and I just hope the support is right.”
Ahead of the game, United were linked with a move for Bolton’s Nicolas Anelka, but had apparently been startled when their local rivals quoted a price of £12m. Money wouldn’t have been an issue, as in the midweek, the Gabriel Heinze saga had been resolved.
Like a child who is told they’re going to Alton Towers but instead are taken to Disneyland, after being told that United were within their rights to refuse to sell him to Liverpool on the 20th August, by the 23rd, he was being unveiled at Real Madrid alongside Arjen Robben after agreeing terms on an £8.4m deal. Heinze believed that the controversy over his exit would not affect how he would be remembered. He said: “Manchester United fans are not stupid. They will not forget everything that I did for the club and everything we won together. I am not worried about their reaction. I only did what I felt would bring about a solution that in the end was not to be. I never thought Real would be my final destination.”
Ferguson, for his part, continued to blame Heinze’s agent. “We’re disappointed because he was a great warrior for us. But the role of agents these days – there are different types and some are completely in control of their clients,” said Ferguson. “They do their banking, their investing, their holidays, so they become controlled by them and dependent on them. I don’t think Gabby was getting the right information from his agents. I said hello to Gabby at the tribunal, but obviously it was very difficult because he was with his three barristers, two agents, interpreter and Spanish laywers — I think there were 20 of them. It must have cost a few bob, that. A lot of big egos. I’ve no problem with Gabby.”
Meanwhile, United’s new star Nani was in the press, insisting that he would continue with his spectacular back-flip celebration whenever he scored. “Mr Ferguson has not said anything to me and I will continue to celebrate my goals in my usual way,” he said, before saying he was enjoying his early days in England, thanks in no small part to his friendship with Cristiano Ronaldo. He said: “I thought it would be difficult but I feel I am playing well. He (Ronaldo) is a friend with whom I spend quite a lot of time away from the pitch.”
With United kicking off in the unfamiliar position of 19th, the circumstances surrounding this glamour fixture of English football were not exactly conducive to an open, attacking game of football, but it was nonetheless an absorbing encounter. Berbatov showed just why United were keen to prise him away from Spurs, as he set up a chance in the first minute for Robbie Keane, whose effort smashed against the crossbar. The hosts were stung and Spurs had a good spell of possession before United finally fought back; Tottenham old boy Michael Carrick unleashing a 25 yard shot that was deflected wide. That was really the best moment for the Reds, as Spurs spurned more chances — Ricardo Rocha headed wide, and then, when Berbatov thought he’d beaten Van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand was there to clear off the line. Shortly afterwards, Berbatov had another chance, but his close range effort was blocked by Wes Brown. Replays suggested that the shot struck Brown on the arm and of course Spurs players were furiously demanding they should have a penalty, but Howard Webb, the referee, waved play on.
Minutes later, Carlos Tevez had a shot of his own cleared off the line. As United regrouped and prepared to attack again, Nani picked the ball up around thirty yards from goal and it seemed as if he would surely lay it off to a team-mate. Instead, though, he held on to the ball, and unleashed a shot of such ferocity it was difficult to comprehend how he had generated such power. The ball took the slightest of deflections from a Spurs player and flew past Paul Robinson into the top corner. Nani duly celebrated in the same way he had with his two pre-season goals, thrilling the crowd again with a back-flip. The 68th minute strike was enough to win the points, but a nervy finish to the game saw Berbatov go excruciatingly close to levelling it up.
“Of course I am bitterly disappointed because we absolutely deserved something from this game — maybe even the win,” insisted Jol afterwards. “We were comfortable throughout, I thought, and we had as many chances as they did. Plus we should definitely have had a penalty — Brown has used his arm and spread himself to block the shot like a keeper and you can’t do that. They scored a marvellous goal but we had chances too, we just needed a bit of luck or a decision to go our way. As for me — I’m not under pressure. The chairman’s backing me and you can see today how the players are desperate to play for this team so there is no problem.”
Sir Alex agreed that it was a tight game but, perhaps inevitably, defended his players. “That was narrow, touch and go, nothing to choose between the two sides,” he said. “They dug in and got forward a bit and there was really nothing in it in the second half. I thought we lacked a little bit of confidence. Players are anxious, there is a lot of expectation here, and what was required was to dig in, show great commitment and we did that. As for the penalty appeals, at the time they protested so much I thought it was a penalty, but Wes said it has hit him on the chest. It does hit him on the chest, I’m sure of that.”
On 27th August, eleven years and two days after he made his goalscoring debut as a substitute against Blackburn Rovers, Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s retirement from football was confirmed. “I would like to thank the manager, the coaching and medical staff and, most of all, the fans, who have supported me,” he said. “They have been fantastic and were a real inspiration when I was injured. I feel proud to have represented United for 11 years and have some very special memories.”
His manager insisted that Solskjær would remain at the club. “Ole has achieved everything a player could wish,” Ferguson said. “He has been a great servant and has remained a model professional. Ole will hopefully go on to be a good coach. Ending your playing career is a sad day for anyone, but in the case of Ole, he has 11 fantastic years he can look back on.”
United icon Paddy Crerand led the tributes. “He’s up there with Denis Law, George Best and Bobby Charlton as one of the legendary figures in United’s history,” he said.
With the transfer deadline looming, Ferguson was asked whether or not he intended to move for Berbatov. “We are not looking to do anything,” he said, adding that the news of Wayne Rooney’s injury not being as bad as originally feared (he was expected to miss just a month) and Louis Saha’s unexpected speedy return from his own surgery would alleviate some of the concerns he had. “Saha coming back would be a massive boost for us and you’re right, he could save us a lot of money,” he told the Star on Sunday. “He’s been out for a long time, so we will see how he feels. He’s trained well for the last couple of weeks.”
Meanwhile, Ferguson also branded Michel Platini’s suggestion that England should give a Champions League place to the FA Cup winners ‘totally ridiculous’. The United boss was speaking after his team had been drawn with Sporting Lisbon, Roma and Dynamo Kiev in the group stages of Europe’s premier competition.
After missing the semi-final against Milan, Rio Ferdinand was sure he and his colleagues could overcome that heartache and triumph in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, where the final would be held the following May. “When I was at Leeds, anything past the qualifying stage was a bonus,” said Ferdinand. “At United, we’re in it to win it. The competition is of unbelievable importance, especially at Manchester United where we know we have the ability to win it. Realistically, we have the ability in our squad – especially this season. That night against Roma was a special one. Not many players get to experience a game like that, where everything just goes right. But the semi-finals was one of the lowest points of my career. When you’re on the bench you are thinking: ‘I’d love to be out there.’ It was frustrating.”
Much conversation had centred around the emergence of Rooney and Ronaldo as stars in the making, as well as United’s summer signings, but Ferdinand was keen to point out that the experience of some of the team’s elder statesmen might be just as crucial to their chances of success, identifying Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes as standard bearers. “They have sustained such a high level at a club of this magnitude,” said the defender. “They’re always there, trying to win another title with us. To keep their impetus at this level for so long is definitely to be admired. They’re an inspiration. So is the manager. His will to win every game runs through the club. He’s the lifeblood and I can’t see him losing that desire.”
Before the first international break of the season, United had one more game to play at Old Trafford. A visit of Sunderland would, with all due respect, be seen as a chance to get a comfortable three points on the board but Sir Alex knew a different proposition awaited him on Saturday, 1st September. Roy Keane was manager of the ‘Black Cats’ and had spent the build-up to the game with his team at Mottram Hall, giving them the lowdown on his former colleagues.
According to Danny Higginbotham, who had just signed for the North East club and was set to make his debut against his boyhood team, Keane went through each of the United players, saying they were not as good as people thought or not the player they once were. Keane’s departure had been acrimonious to say the least but he had since returned to play a testimonial game in his honour in 2006. Now, a year on, the fates had conspired to bring Keane back to Old Trafford as a manager.
“It was not an easy parting of the ways for either of us,” Sir Alex Ferguson admitted before the game, “but it takes nothing away from a fantastic association I enjoyed as his manager for 12 years. He was one of the club’s great captains and I did not describe him as the heartbeat of Manchester United for nothing.”
At the time, it did not appear as if there was any bitterness between the two men in the same way it has seemed to be in recent years. Indeed, when the full-time whistle went, Keane’s name was sung loudly by the entirety of Old Trafford as he walked back to the dressing room alongside Ferguson. At that point Keane had witnessed his team get edged out 1-0 — they could consider themselves unfortunate not to have got a point. Before the game, Solskjaer had waved farewell to the supporters who adored him.
Ferguson, shorn of Rooney and Ronaldo through injury and suspension, also had Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs ruled out. It meant a starting role for Anderson in an advanced role behind Tevez, while Chris Eagles played on the right wing. United were ponderous and disjointed, unable to get into any rhythm, and Sunderland were rarely given any cause for concern even if their disciplined and organised performance deserved credit.
After a dismal first half showing, Anderson was withdrawn and replaced by the returning Louis Saha; the introduction of a striker alongside Tevez seemed to pay instant dividends. Saha hit a powerful drive which was saved magnificently by Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon. However, as the game passed the three-quarter mark, Gordon made a wrong judgement call for a corner taken by Nani, and Saha was there at the near post to capitalise on the error and head home. It was the sort of game where one goal always seemed like it would be enough and even though Sunderland had the majority of the ball for the remainder of the game, United held on for an unconvincing victory.
“When you lose to a set-piece it’s very frustrating,” admitted Keane afterwards. “One lapse and you can lose the game. I’m delighted with the overall performance. It would have been nice to test their goalkeeper a bit more but overall I’m delighted with the players’ efforts. The United fans were fantastic — and the Sunderland fans were too — but we’re still leaving with no points.”
Ferguson couldn’t pretend that the display hadn’t been laborious to watch for the 75,648 in attendance. “The first half, our passing was far too slow and we were not making many chances,” he said. “Louis Saha gave the players a target. He’s very much needed, with his speed and his strength we’ve missed him so we’re delighted to have him back. I thought we deserved to win the game but it was a long day.”
Liverpool’s 6-0 demolition of Derby County (which included two goals from recent signing Fernando Torres, who was impressing all since his arrival from Atletico Madrid) put them top of the table going into the international break; however, despite their poor start, United’s recovery placed them just two points behind their famous rivals. Liverpool had, however, played one game less in the league, due to having to play in Champions League qualifying round.
United’s new midfielder Owen Hargreaves was not concerned, however, by his team’s performances. They had ironically put in poorer shows in their victories than they had in the games they didn’t win but the England international was convinced that things would turn around soon. “Any time you don’t have players like Louis, Wayne and Cristiano it is going to be difficult,” Hargreaves said. “They are three of the best players in England, so it will be great to have them all back. Once we get everybody else back, it will be very exciting. We have put ourselves in a good position for when we come back after the international break. We have Everton away next and hopefully we can go there and get three points.”
One player who wouldn’t be going away with his country was Ryan Giggs. Giggs had seen transition occur so many times that he knew one day he would become another part of that same cycle; Nani may have been heralded as the new Ronaldo when he came in but he had played predominantly on the left wing in his early days, whilst Anderson was talked of as a successor to Paul Scholes. The speculation linking United with Daniel Alves and Real Madrid’s Cicinho meant that maybe for the first time Gary Neville’s position was under serious threat too.
Giggs, however, insisted that he was well aware of how time was creeping, and felt that all three thoroughbreds would be able to contribute to United’s chances of success. “You can’t stand still,” he admitted. “Myself, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, we’ll not play forever. We needed to bring the age of the team down and we’ve done that. But at the moment we’ve got a good mixture of experience and young players. Eventually these young players will be the future of United. The club never stands still and never will.”
