Premier League
FLASHBACK: ‘You are f****** idiots!’ – why Sir Alex Ferguson stormed out of press conference in defence of ‘f****** great’ Manchester United signing
“Be quick, I’ve only got a few minutes,” Sir Alex Ferguson harked to a tight and tense press room at Carrington back in May 2002.
The Manchester United manager’s relationship with the media was rarely affable, particularly at a time when press conferences were spiky and tense, confined to a claustrophobic media room and not streamed online to the masses. Journalists were often scolded or banned from future attendance if they rubbed the Scot up the wrong way.
Said journalists were on tenterhooks when coming together at United’s training ground for the penultimate game of the 2001/02 campaign. Arsenal were the visitors to Old Trafford that weekend, with Arsene Wenger’s side knowing victory against their fiercest rivals would secure the title.
It had been a disastrous six weeks for Ferguson and United, with defeat at home to Middlesbrough at the end of March seeing them lose their place at the table’s summit for the first time since January.
A month on from that, the Reds were dumped out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage by Bayer Leverkusen, having drawn both legs and losing on away goals.
Juan Sebastian Veron had been excellent for United during their European campaign, with the slower pace and more technical focus suiting his strengths. Ferguson brought the Argentinian across from Lazio the previous summer, sanctioning a then-British record £28.1million move and agreeing a lucrative five-year contract.
It was hoped Veron would lead the way in Ferguson’s latest squad evolution, and the United boss was at pains to accommodate his flashy new signing, often breaking up the tried and trusted midfield duo of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes.
Four goals in his first eight games was about as close to a dream start as one could wish for and enough for Veron to claim the Premier League’s Player of the Month award for September. But as those goals dried up and the silky midfielder struggled with English physicality, so the media criticism inevitably followed.
The Argentinian was at the centre of media reports, with one in particular irking Ferguson. In the fallout from United’s Champions League exit, the Mirror ran a story alleging a row between Veron and some of his teammates which ended when the midfielder supposedly stormed out.
And so Ferguson entered his pre-game press conference – this time on a Monday, with the Arsenal game on Wednesday – with scores to settle and little tolerance of those reporters he was hosting. In a full transcript of the meeting with journalists, captured by the tape recorder of Telegraph reporter Sam Wallace, the fiery Scot took issue with the line of questioning.
The conversation initially drifted towards Ferguson suggesting Wenger had been arrogant in the build-up, but quickly spread to a more general back-and-forth in which the United boss brought up the Veron story.
With one reporter having already been labelled a ‘joke’ and a ‘disgrace to journalism’, they decided to press on and ask directly about the alleged row – and that was enough.
“That was answered with Paddy Harverson [United’s ex-director of communications],” Ferguson fumed before storming out of the packed media room.
“It’s absolute nonsense! Absolute nonsense! You know it’s nonsense! Absolute lies! I don’t believe that you write these things.
“Anyway, that’s a finish, on you go. Get going. On you go! We’re no f****** talking! [Veron] is a f******* great player! You are f****** idiots!”
Veron started against Arsenal but lasted only 58 minutes, coming off shortly after Sylvain Wiltord scored what would be the title-clinching goal for Arsenal. It was fitting that in the first game after Ferguson’s impassioned defence, the midfielder’s weaknesses came to the fore against a physical and dynamic Gunners side.
The Argentinian’s status as a club-record signing ended in the summer of 2002, with Rio Ferdinand joining from Leeds United in a deal worth around £30million.
And after a dismal World Cup campaign with La Albiceleste – they left at the group stage despite entering the competition as joint favourites – Veron endured another underwhelming season at United. The Reds retained their place at the top of the Premier League that season but lost to Liverpool in the League Cup final and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Arsenal in February 2003.
The former Lazio man bagged six goals and nine assists from 40 appearances, a tally that was far from terrible but continued to warrant questions with the caveat of his price tag. Just over 14 months after exploding at the press for their criticism, Ferguson cut his losses on Veron and sold him to Chelsea for £15million.
The midfielder would later suggest his struggles in England were due in part to a less intense pre-season compared to Italy, while Ferguson would admit his record signing was not cut out for the Premier League: “Juan Veron was capable of exceptional football and was talented. But at times, he found the Premiership a bit difficult. He was a European player and that was where we got our best form from him.”
Veron would spend four years at Chelsea, although three of those were on loan to Inter Milan and then Estudiantes in his home country – a side he would eventually join permanently in 2006 to wind down his career. He would never mirror his form for Parma and Lazio during his spell in England, but remained grateful to Ferguson for defending him.
“I was just very grateful for that, I always respected his defence of me,” Veron told Gambling Zone of Ferguson’s fiery press conference. “I know my English past isn’t so great – lots of ups and downs – I never had regularity in my football career over there.
“I don’t like this because in my seven years in Italy, I played a consistent level of football. In England there were so many ups and downs, so I am forever grateful to Sir Alex for defending me from the media. But my football, at that moment, was not that good.”
-MEN
Liverpool will have to wait for a few more days to be crowned Premier League champions despite a 1-0 victory at Leicester City after Arsenal kept their slender hopes just about alive with a 4-0 romp at 10-man Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold came off the bench to score Liverpool’s winner in the 76th minute at the King Power Stadium to restore their 13-point lead at the top with five games left.
While Liverpool can almost taste a record-equalling 20th English crown, Leicester’s defeat confirmed their relegation back to the Championship after just one season.
The Midlands club have now been relegated from England’s top flight a record 13 times.
Chelsea secured a massive win in their bid to qualify for the Champions League as they came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage with Pedro Neto scoring in stoppage time.
The win pushed Chelsea above Nottingham Forest in to fifth place, the last spot for qualification to the Champions League, although Forest play at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
Chelsea have 57 points from 33 games, two behind third-placed Newcastle United and one behind Manchester City. Forest and Aston Villa are level with Chelsea on 57 points.
Wolverhampton Wanderers guaranteed their safety as they beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. Pablo Sarabia’s stunning free kick wrapped up a fifth successive league win, the first time Wolves have achieved that in the top flight since 1970.
Liverpool were wasteful at Leicester with numerous chances going begging and Mohamed Salah suffering a frustrating afternoon including hitting both posts with an early shot.
Salah hit the woodwork again moments before the ball came out to Alexander-Arnold who fired a left-footed shot through the crowd to give his side the points — ripping off his shirt and celebrating wildly with the travelling fans.
“We just keep going, mentally we’re really strong,” manager Arne Slot, whose side could be crowned champions if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, told Sky Sports.
“They enjoy playing football and it helps when you are playing for something special. Today (Alexander-Arnold) knows when it matters most he can just bring a bit more which is something all the top, top players have.”
DISTANT SECOND
If Arsenal avoid defeat by Palace, Slot’s side will seal the title if they beat Tottenham Hotspur at home next Sunday.
“We will focus on Tottenham and looking forward again to a home game and I think the stadium will be full,” Slot, who can become the first Dutch manager to win the English title, said. “It’s a nice game to look forward to.”
Liverpool have 79 points with Arsenal a distant second on 66. Arsenal may have their eyes now on a Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain, but they showed against Ipswich they will not hand over the title to Liverpool.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring early on and Gabriel Martinelli made it 2-0 after a delightful flick by Mikel Merino.
Ipswich were reduced to 10 men before halftime as Leif Davis crudely raked his studs down the back of Bukayo Saka’s calf and the second half was academic.
Trossard grabbed his second in the 69th minute and Ethan Nwaneri added a late fourth to leave Ipswich stuck in 18th place on 21 points. They will be relegated if they drop points again or 17th-placed West Ham United pick up one more point from their remaining five games.
Chelsea were heading for a damaging defeat at neighbours Fulham as the hosts led with Alex Iwobi’s 20th-minute goal.
Substitute Tyrique George equalised with an instinctive shot in the 83rd minute, his first Premier League goal, before winger Neto swivelled and unleashed a thunderous strike in stoppage time to send the away fans wild.
Manchester United reached the Europa League semi-final with an astonishing comeback win against French club Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday but their Premier League woes returned against Wolves.
They are in 14th place and have now lost eight Premier League home games this season, their most defeats at Old Trafford in a league campaign since 1962-63.
“Wolves scored in the only opportunity they had. we had many chances, and we didn’t score. If you don’t score goals, you are not going to win games,” manager Ruben Amorim said.
-Reuters
Egyptian outlet, Ahram, has reported that Mohamed Salah has signed a new contract with Liverpool, extending his stay at Anfield beyond the 2024-25 season as he prepares for what could be the final chapter of a storied career with the club.
While the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, British media reports indicate the 32-year-old forward has signed a two-year extension, keeping him at the club until at least 2027.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from AS Roma in 2017, has become a modern-day icon at Anfield.
The Egyptian international has scored 243 goals in 394 appearances—third on the club’s all-time scorers list—and has helped the Reds secure seven major trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League titles.
“I had my best years here,” Salah told the club’s website. “Hopefully it’s going to be 10. I signed because I believe we can still win big trophies together.”
He has maintained his prolific form this season, scoring 32 goals and providing 22 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions. His 27 Premier League goals currently lead the division.
During his time with Liverpool, Salah has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times, been named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice, and claimed two FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
Now entering the latter stages of his career, Salah remains focused on adding more silverware to his collection and further cementing his legacy at Liverpool.
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Leicester City’s Jeremy Monga, who became the second-youngest Premier League player when he made his senior debut in Monday’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle United, had to wear a blank shirt because it is sponsored by an online cryptocurrency gaming platform.
Britain’s Gambling Act 2005, which underwent a review in 2020, prohibits players under 18 from wearing kits displaying gambling sponsors. Monga, an England U16 international, made his senior debut at 15 years 271 days old.
Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri remains the youngest Premier League player in history, having debuted in the competition when he was 90 days younger than Monga.
Leicester, who suffered an eighth straight loss in the league without scoring a goal, are 19th in the standings, 15 points below the safety zone.
-Reuters
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