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Happy Anniversary Lord Ferg
Aware of the overwhelming love and affection that courses through these forums for the First Knight of Govan I though a special tribute thread was in order on this day of days. It was nice to see Arsene Wenger deliver his gift on national television last night. There can be little doubt Wengers' uncharacteristic push-and-shove, expletives deleted tussle with Big Al Pardew yesterday was the direct result of having to find something nice to say about his hairdrier-wielding nemesis.
Over the past 20 years I've personally disagreed with a great deal of Lord Ferg's bigger decisions; getting rid of Sparky, chasing Cantona across Paris, pulling out of the FA Cup (a shameful episode instigated by the FA and the United hiarachy for which Lord Ferg and the club carried the can), Juan Veron, making public his retirement date, the U-turn, shedding Beckham and Keane . . . it goes on. It's time to admit, with one or two exceptions (Veron) he was right and I was wrong. That's why he's one of Football's most successful managers of all time and I'm in event logistics.
Nine years ago my son Jake was laid up in hospital with a busted hip. He was a promising centre back, tall, calm on the ball, brave in the air . . . many things I'd not been on a football pitch. A good friend of mine worked at the Devilbowl back when it was a Theatre of Hope and got word to Old Puceface's office. Now I've no doubt that the letter that landed on our doormat a day or so later was at best a stock-in-trade shovelled out to the ailing children of United supporters. But the United - Juvé program, signed by the first team squad, was real enough, and the sentiments and encouragement in the letter were pure Ferguson.
So from this corner of Sussex, happy 20th Sir Alex.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
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