Football’s Alastair Campbell

Michael Crick says that Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson is not a crook, but he is a liar and a bully

If he’d dithered for another day or two last winter, then Sir Alex would now be relaxing somewhere off the Azores or Madagascar, starting his retirement with the world cruise he’s always promised Cathy, his long-suffering wife. Last February, Manchester United were within hours of signing a contract with the England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson to succeed Ferguson, who planned to retire in May. The plan was that Eriksson should take over at Old Trafford after this summer’s World Cup. Then, suddenly, as lawyers perfected Eriksson’s contract, Fergie changed his mind. He couldn’t give up the football drug, and asked to stay another three years.

Sir Alex Ferguson is the most decorated manager in British football history. During the 1980s, his Aberdeen side posed the most serious challenge which the two great Glasgow clubs, Celtic and Rangers, faced during the whole of the 20th century. Under his command at Old Trafford, Manchester United have won 14 major trophies, with an exciting combination of home-grown talent, such as David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, and shrewd purchases like Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Ferguson is no great coach or tactical genius. His record is based on man-management skills which would have brought success in many fields – great judgment of character and potential, the Scottish Presbyterian virtues of hard work and firm discipline and, above all, insistence on total control.

As Manchester United experience their worst start for more than a decade, growing numbers of their fans wish Sir Alex had stuck to his original plan and quit while his record remained relatively untarnished. The aggression, determination and focus which contributed to his success are degenerating into bad-tempered belligerence, foul-mouthed arrogance and a graceless desperation to win, to hell with the price or the rules.