A Millenium

BBC's defining moments for Ferguson

Fergie's United managerial record

If you had saved 1 dollar for every match that Sir Alex Ferguson had managed United for, you would have had 1000 dollars in your piggy bank by the end of yesterday. Yes, that's the astronomical number of games that Fergie had been in the dugout as Man United manager. So how fitting was it that his team chose the perfect occasion to demonstrate to the world that Fergie is by no means past it, at least not by a long way yet.

I can't even begin to describe how pleased I was with yesterday's performance. So pleased I was that even when Carroll's mistake occurred, I did not explode (I am NOT lying! *Sompa*). The passing was short and sharp, the movements of Scholes, Rooney, Ronaldo and Smith in midfield were a joy to watch. Its amazing how smooth the play can be without Djemba Djemba or Bellion to fuck things up. The signs were there against Man City and Newcastle and this was a further improvement. It was by no means the best performance ever but it is a step in the roght direction. Roy Keane, Fergie's trusted lieutenant for the best part of the past 10 years, chose this occasion too to rise above his recent mediocre performance to provide the platform for the best present to his boss. Another of his quiet warriors Gary Neville marked the occasion with a goal too.

In the past few years, I had heard or seen quite a few people saying Fergie was past it, was losing it etc. I had criticised some of his decisions (selling Stam being number 1) but I had never called for him to be replaced or sacked (at least not since Sec 3 as far as I can remember). This is because you simply do not sack a man who had brought so much success and negate all his achievements with just one pink letter. Short of dragging United into a relegation dogfight, he must never ever be sacked. The club maybe more important than any single individual, but this is certainly one near exception. The amount of success since 1990 had been simply phenomenal. There were only 4 seasons in his reign where he did not win a single trophy (and I am only counting the major important trophies). Quite simply, he had earned the right to decide when he wants to step down.

So to see those people on manutd.com's forum calling for Ferguson to be sacked earlier in the season really pisses me off to no end. These people jumped on the United bandwagon because of the trophies (I was a bit like them...but I supported them because they were second, not because they were first at the time....but that is another story for another time...) and when the trophies and victories did not come, they began attacking the man who made all these possible. They did not understand that for 26 years, the United fans had suffered far more than they ever did now. What is a year or two without a title compared to 26 years? They called for his head, without stopping to think that who was responsible for elevating their expectations in the first place. Stupid comments like for example "dropping points to Boro and Blackburn etc is not good enough for a club as big as United" are made without realising that it was FERGUSON who made the club as big as it is now. For 26 years, inconsistency and dropping points against mediocre opposition had been the usual at Old Trafford. Ferguson was the man who made such inconsistency unacceptable.

I hope those idiots can take a long hard look at themselves and realise how foolish they had been. If not quite simply they should fuck off. United do not need such fans who attack the team and the manager when chips are down (though feel free to criticise Djemba Djemba and Bellion :P)

On that note, I would like to end off with a thanks to Ferguson for giving me so much joy over the last 10 years. Here's to many more landmarks and 1000 games.