Live Bar December 28 News Former Manchester United coach Ferguson is about to celebrate his 80th birthday, when the Red Devils godfather was in office, Manchester United often staged magical goals in the injury time of the game, and gradually "Ferguson time" was enjoyed by fans. The Athletic interviewed a number of former Premier League referees and told some of the stories of Sir Alex and the referees.
Excerpts from the article:
"When you go to Old Trafford, you have to have strong mental strength because they will do everything they can to influence you," former Premier League referee Clattenburg often argues with Ferguson, "Ferguson can get fans to oppose the referee by jumping up on the sideline to express his dissatisfaction with the decision." It's scary – I'm not ashamed to admit it. I don't think anyone in my position can ignore that kind of pressure. Being able to resist these is to be a good referee. ”
To be sure, no other manager has the same presence as Ferguson. It is also true that Ferguson occasionally blurs the line between his own acceptability of a penalty or not. Another former referee, Jeff Winter, has suggested a "stadium ban" that could be "the only way to teach Ferguson a lesson."
In large part because Ferguson, the FA introduced a new rule a decade ago that prohibits managers from talking about who is the referee of the game at a pre-match press conference. Almost inevitably, Ferguson became the first manager to break the new rule. "In my opinion, he has a lot more control than the current managers," former Premier League referee Swabrick said, "and honestly, the new generation of managers is far less challenging for us than Sir Alex Ferguson." ”
But many in the refereeing community have also said that Ferguson doesn't always "bang" or "blast" at referees, as newspapers say.
"We're like a house on fire," said Roger Milford, a referee who spoke of Ferguson with nostalgia, "and people have the wrong impression of him." Everyone said Ferguson was bad for the referee. But guess who sent me the first letter when I retired. Milford was once hailed as Britain's first outpost, and on the walls of his home hung Ferguson's letters.
Clattenburg is one of them, and Ferguson's name appears 45 times in a passage in his autobiography The Whistleblower.
"Over the years, I've had many opportunities to see him (Ferguson) and his team up close," Clattenburg wrote. "I'm sure the players have embraced Ferguson's strategy of dealing with officials and opponents.
"It's a very purposeful strategy, creating a siege mentality that influences future penalties by putting pressure on the referee. His players will 'attack' you in droves. It's like they have a rotation system, always three or four different people, so they can avoid being sent off. Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Scholes, Rooney, they'll even bite your face. ”
Clattenburg sent Ferguson to the stands for his first game of law enforcement. In stark contrast, Milford's relationship with Ferguson was less intense.
"Maybe I was lucky that he did well when I was enforcing Ferguson's side," said Milford, an assistant referee in the 1990 FA Cup final when United beat Crystal Palace. "Before and after the game, he always talked friendly. He's an absolute gentleman, and you can laugh with him too.
"I joked to him before a game, 'Alex, if you're going to win today, I'll make up 2 minutes of stoppage time, and if you're going to lose, I'll make up 4 minutes.' That's what you want, right? ’。 He just smiled. ”
As we all know, "Fergie Time" refers to the fact that when Manchester United needs to score, the referee will add extra time in stoppage time. But is this true?
Swablick retorted: "Everybody has this picture of him." But seriously, will the referee look at the manager during the game to see if he is tapping on his watch? No, it won't.
"I've always thought he was more about showing the opposing players and he wanted to show the upper hand in front of them. But as a referee, you won't notice that. ”
However, the game of blowing off Ferguson does seem to require more energy. Bobby Madley tells the story of his first time enforcing the law at Old Trafford.
"The reason I'm nervous is not because of the players, but because of the manager," Madry said, "he's a legend... A football legend. The only thing I could think of was, 'What do I call him?' Do I call him Alex? Or Sir Alex? Or Mr. Ferguson? Did 'Sir Alex' act too respectfully?
"I go to the dressing room for routine checks. I walked to the Manchester United dressing room and knocked on the door, and it was Ferguson who opened the door! I don't know what to say, what I should be saying is, 'Hello, Alex.' He said, 'Hey, honey. 'What?' 'Hi dear'? ”
One day in December 2009, at 9 a.m., Weber came to Craven Farm in Fulham to determine if the stadium, which had suffered overnight frost, could play. What he didn't expect was that Ferguson had arrived.
"I've seen it," Ferguson said matter-of-factly, "it's terrible. It's a bloody (classic word 'bloody') death trap. ”
But Weber, who is the premier League's top referee, decided to see for himself. He knew United's defence had been destroyed by injuries and considering that Vidic, Ferdinand, Evans and O'Shea were all out, Ferguson was probably hoping to postpone the game.
Inspecting the playing field, Weber announced to Ferguson that he would not postpone it. "What did you xx say?" Ferguson responded, "You told me the game had to be played? I don't believe it. ”
Weber insisted on the decision, reiterating that Fulham's pitch was game-ready and ready to deal with Ferguson's outburst. But Ferguson returned to the players' tunnel with a smile on his face: "Yes, of course I know. ”
Final score: Fulham 3-0 Manchester United.
On another occasion against Liverpool, he was unhappy with Weber's penalty, waiting for Weber at halftime in the players' tunnel at Old Trafford. "I've seen it," he shouted. "I've seen you sing, xx's sing 'Never Walk Alone'. This xx explains all this (penalty). ”
Webb had had too much to drink at the Referees' Association dinner a few years earlier. He was photographed in the singing of Gerry And The Pacemakers, which is also liverpool's theme song. Ferguson frantically suggested that Webb was a Liverpool fan, in order to put pressure on Webb.
Maybe we just have to remember that if Ferguson could somehow bring benefits to the team, he wouldn't have missed a move.
（WinksK4）